Premium
Comparison of the carpal cleaning brush in two genera of hydrothermal vent shrimp (Crustacea, Decapoda, Bresiliidae)
Author(s) -
Martin Joel W.,
Signorovitch James,
Patel Hema
Publication year - 1998
Publication title -
journal of morphology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.652
H-Index - 74
eISSN - 1097-4687
pISSN - 0362-2525
DOI - 10.1002/(sici)1097-4687(199801)235:1<31::aid-jmor3>3.0.co;2-r
Subject(s) - biology , decapoda , shrimp , crustacean , anatomy , fishery , hydrothermal vent , zoology , hydrothermal circulation , paleontology
Clusters of specialized serrate setae in patches called “carpal cleaning brushes,” or carpal‐propodal brushes, are found on the distal margins of the chelipedal carpus in many species of caridean shrimps and other decapod crustaceans. These brushes, used to clean the antennal flagellum, occur in some bresiliid shrimp species associated with hydrothermal vents in the Pacific and Atlantic oceans, and recently their presence has been proposed as a distinguishing taxonomic character at the genus level. Occurrence of such brushes in shrimp that live near hydrothermal vents is of interest because of the high number of bacteria associated with these vents. These shrimp have the potential to be heavily fouled with bacteria, whereas at the same time preliminary studies suggest that they may depend upon these bacteria at least in part (or possibly exclusively) for food. We employ scanning electron microscopy to examine and describe the general morphology and location of carpal brushes on the chelipeds of all known species in two vent shrimp genera, Rimicaris Williams and Rona and Chorocaris Martin and Hessler. The brush is well developed and clearly delimited in all known species of Chorocaris, where it consists of a triangular field of serrate setae and a posterior blunt spine that possibly functions as a “stop” to keep the antennal flagellum in place during grooming. Rimicaris exoculata has no recognizable carpal cleaning brush or any serrate setae on the chelipedal carpus and thus appears derived relative to species of Chorocaris with regard to this feature. A newly described species, R. aurantiaca, is somewhat intermediate, having no carpal brush but with two serrate setae and a blunt spine in the region occupied by the brush in species of Chorocaris. Possible implications and comparisons to the genera Alvinocaris and Opapaele are discussed briefly. J. Morphol. 235: 31–39, 1998. © 1998 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.