A new Callichirus ghost shrimp species from the south-western Atlantic, long confounded with C. major (Say, 1818) (Decapoda: Axiidea: Callichiridae)

ABSTRACT

Morphological and molecular evidence suggests that the ghost shrimp population in Brazil that had been assigned to Callichirus major (Say, 1818) represents a distinct species. A neotype of C. major is designated in the interest of nomenclature, because the holotype is no longer extant. Based on material from Brazil, a new species, Callichirus corruptus, is described. Differentiating characters between the new species and C. major are discussed and an identification key to species of Callichirus is provided.

http://www.zoobank.org/urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:29450E54-130A-4838-B923-F9676609DB3A

KEYWORDS:

• burrowing ghost shrimps
• coast of Brazil
• morphology
• neotype
• sandy beaches
• key to Callichirus species

PALABRAS CLAVES:

• Camarones fantasmas excavadores
• Costa de Brasil
• morfología
• neotipo
• playas de arena
• clave para las especies de Callichirus

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Acknowledgements

Firstly, we thank our colleagues Marcos Tavares and William Santana for their help in the construction, organisation, analysis and conclusions of an early version of this work. Without their help and work we would not have been able to bring this work to fruition. Also, we are grateful to Rafael Lemaitre and Karen Reed, who kindly provided access to material of Callichirus and provided working space at the USNM; Paul Callomon (Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia) and Paul F. Clark and Miranda Lowe (Natural History Museum, London), who kindly searched for the holotype of Callichirus major in the collections of the ANSP and NHM, respectively; and Joana D’Arc de Jesus Pinto and Maria José de Souza Coelho (MZUSP) for the help with the MZUSP collections. We thank in particular Mr Andrew Polaszek, Editor in Chief, for the vital work he has done during the laborious revision process of our article. Without his fair and professional intervention, this work would never have seen the light of day. Finally, we thank the four anonymous referees, who helped to improve the content and format of this article.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest has been declared by the author(s).

Ethical approval

All applicable international, national and/or institutional guidelines for the care and use of animals were followed by the authors.

Data availability

All data generated or analysed during this study are included in this published article.

Sampling and field studies

All necessary permits for sampling and observational field studies were obtained by the authors from the competent authorities. Licences to collect zoological material issued to PH (#51,578-1, #58,845-1) were provided by the Brazilian Institute of the Environment and Renewable Natural Resources (SISBIO/IBAMA-MMA).

Additional information

Funding

PH and MSM thank Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP) for financial aid through a post-doctoral grant [process 2015/09020-0] and a PhD sandwich grant [process 2018/17718-5], respectively. PH also thanks Fundação de Amparo à Ciência e Tecnologia do Estado de Pernambuco (FACEPE) for financial aid through a Researcher Fixation Scholarship [process BFP-0196-1.08/20]. JPPR thanks Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES) for financial aid through an MSc grant [process 1688290]. MAAP thanks Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq) for financial aid through research grants [305714/2015-5].