Infraorder CARIDEA Latreille, 1817

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Introduction

The Caridea comprise around 2000 shrimp species worldwide. Australia has over 600 species representing 156 genera in 25 families, and thus more than a quarter of the world total. Carideans are primarily marine but are found in a variety of biotopes including estuaries and freshwater; they are both planktonic and benthic in habit, sometimes commensal, occasionally intertidal, and rarely, even semi-terrestrial. Their fossil record dates from the mid-Jurassic. The single most important reference for any modern student of the Caridea is Holthuis' (1993) review and key to genera.

Diagnosis

Carapace cylindrical, laterally compressed, or slightly compressed dorsoventrally. Eyes stalked, compound; occasionally reduced or absent. Antennules bi- or triramous; with stylocerite. Antennae with 5-segmented peduncle and scaphocerite. Mandibles with or without palp. Maxillulae with endopodal palp. Maxillae biramous; usually with bilobed distal and entire proximal endites. Endopod of first maxillipeds with two or fewer segments; without crista dentata. First two pairs of pereiopods usually chelate; sometimes without exopods. Abdomen with pleopods usually biramous; often with appendix masculina; usually also with appendix interna. Telson, together with broad biramous uropods, forms tailfan. Segmentation: head with 5 + 3 thoracic (maxillipeds); thorax with 5; abdomen with 6, excluding telson. Sexes separate; protandry and protogyny occur; gonopores on coxae of third pereiopods of female, fifth of male; male often with appendix masculina; eggs carried on pleopods of female. (After McLaughlin 1980).

General References

Holthuis, L.B. 1993. The Recent Genera of the Caridean and Stenopodidean Shrimps (Crustacea, Decapoda). Alblasserdam : Ridderprint Offsetdrukkerij B.V. 328 pp.

Kou, Q., Li, T.-Y., Vhu, K.H. & Gan, Z. 2013. Molecular phylogeny of the superfamily Palaemonoidea (Crustacea :Decapoda : Caridea) based on mitochondrial and nuclear DNA reveals discrepancies with the current classification. Invertebrate Systematics 27: 502–514

McLaughlin, P.A. 1980. Comparative Morphology of Recent Crustacea. San Francisco : W.H. Freeman & Co. 177 pp.

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