Morphology of the first three zoeal stages of the deep-sea caridean shrimp Heterocarpus fascirostratus Yang, Chan & Kumar, 2018 (Crustacea, Decapoda, Pandalidae)

The larvae of the deep-sea pandalid shrimp Heterocarpus fascirostratus Yang, Chan & Kumar, 2018 were successfully hatched and cultured to the third zoeal stage. The larvae reached the third zoeal stage nine days after hatching at a water temperature of 21 ± 1 °C. Although members of Heterocarpus A. Milne-Edwards, 1881 have rather diverse body forms and are often separated into many species groups, the early zoeal morphology of H. fascirostratus follows the general developmental pattern of the species in Heterocarpus. The main differences amongst these larvae are body size, spines on the anteroventral margin of the carapace, and the endopod setation of the third maxilliped.

Embryonic and larval development of the caridean shrimp Palaemon argentinus (Decapoda, Caridea): effects of salinity and diet

The caridean shrimp Palaemon argentinus is a species of commercial and ecological interest. Its numerous larval stages, the lack of knowledge on their nutritional requirements, and their ability to survive in a wide range of salinities raise questions on the optimum conditions for larval rearing in captivity. The present study was aimed at evaluating embryonic development under different salinities and larval development under different combinations of salinities and diet regimes, in order to define alternative, cheaper culture conditions. We tested salinities usually encountered by the species in natural habitats (0.1, 1 and 5 ppt) and a highly protein-inert diet (Tetracolor®) as a potential replacement for live food (nauplii of Artemia salina). The incubation period and fecundity were similar among salinity treatments. Overall, the number of survival days and percentage of zoeae that moulted two, three and four times were higher when embryogenesis occurred at 5 ppt and when larvae were exposed to 5 ppt. These results suggest that the conditions experienced by embryos affect the performance of the first larval stages, and probably reflect the lower energetic requirements of zoeae to osmoregulate as water and haemolymph osmolarity become closer. On the other hand, larval performance was better when fed A. salina nauplii than Tetracolor®. The latter may not cover the nutritional requirements of zoeae or may have low digestibility due to insufficient enzymes in the undeveloped larval digestive system. Based on the present results, we conclude that a salinity of 5 ppt combined with a diet consisting of Artemia sp. nauplii is optimal for larval culture at early stages.

The first larval stage (Zoea I) description of the caridean shrimp Ogyrides occidentalis (Ortmann, 1893) (Alpheoidea: Ogyrididae) reveals congruence with taxonomic status

A complete and detailed description of the first zoeal stage of Ogyrides occidentalis is provided. Larvae were obtained in the laboratory from a female with embryos collected in Ubatuba, State of São Paulo, Brazil. The morphological characters are compared with previous description of the close related O. alphaerostris. Despite of some similarities (number of appendages, pleonites, and setae on the majority of appendages) substantial differences were found between the two species, as the size of larvae and rostrum and segmentation of some structures (antenna exopod, first maxilliped coxa and basis). However, these differences must be interpreted carefully because larval description of O. alphaerostris was conducted before the proposed standardization for decapod larval morphology descriptions. The present larval description furnished additional information to corroborate the recent resurrection of O. occidentalis and will be useful for future comparative and ecological research.

Identification of Lactic Acid Bacteria Isolated from Local Commercial Yahe (Fermented Caridean-Shrimp) Products

Fermentation was used since ancient times as an easy method of food preservation, which also maintains and/or improves the nutritional and sensory properties of food. A research as aimed at identifying strain of lactic acid bacteria (LAB) from fermented caridean-shrimp, which properties suitable for starter cultures in food fermentation. A total of 18 LAB stains were obtained from ten different samples, in each sample consisted of commercial LAB strain that isolated from ten samples of caridean-shrimp. The LAB strains from ten samples were screened for resistance to biological barriers (acid and bile salts), and the three most promising strains were selected. The three bacteria strains were isolated from samples of caridean[1]shrimp and were characterized by the API 50 CHL system of identification. Three lactic acid bacteria species were identified and included Lactobacillus plantarum, and Lactobacillus acidophilus. Strain Y’11b,2, Y’11e,2, Y’85,1, which showed probiotic characteristics reducing cell growth of cancer, could be suitable as a starter culture for food fermentation because of its strong acid production and high acid tolerance. This is the first report to describe bacteria, isolated from caridean[1]shrimp, Lactobacillus Plantarum (Y’11b,2, Y’11e,2) and Lactobacillus acidophilus (Y’85,1) which have the probiotic characteristics and the acid tolerance needed for its use as a starter culture in food fermentation.

Misidentification and notes on Plesionika semilaevis, Spence Bate, 1888 (Crustacean: Decapoda: Caridea) from the southern coast of India

The commercial deep-sea caridean shrimp Plesionika martia (Milne-Edwards 1883) has long been recorded from India and constitutes an important species of deep-sea shrimp catches in the southern coast of India. However, the present study revealed that all the previous records of “Plesionika martia” is actually a misidentification of the closely related species P. semilaevis, which was recently obtained from Indian waters. The specimens were collected from three fish landing harbours (Sakthikulangara, Kalamuku, and Tuticorin) fished from the depth of about 150–250 m along the southern coast of India during 2014 to 2017. The level of interspecies genetic divergence between 16S rDNA (16.8–18.6%) and COI (26.1%) sequences of the Indian P. semilaevis and P. martia sequence retrieved from NCBI were found to be comparatively high. The current work illustrates the detailed morphological characters with color photographs of the species, P. semilaevis off the Indian Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ).