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Family PALAEMONIDAE Rafinesque, 1815


Compiler and date details

May 2012 - Peter Davie, Queensland Museum, Brisbane

22 May 2006 - Minor update by ABRS from files provided by A.J. Bruce May 2006

 

Introduction

This is the most speciose and morphologically diverse of all the shrimp families, with around 100 genera currently recognised. Palaemonids are cosmopolitan in distribution. Most species are marine, occurring from shallow interidal pools down to 1285 metres, but the Palaemonidae is one of the few shrimp families that has radiated successfully into freshwater. Many species, especially in the subfamily Pontoniinae, live commensally with other invertebrates and have developed exceptionally beautiful colour patterns.

Four subfamilies are recognised. Only two occur in the Indo-Pacific region: Palaemoninae and Pontoniinae, and both are widespread. Holthuis (1993) provided the most recent review at the generic level and included keys to genera known to that time.

The superfamily Palaemonoidea comprises seven closely allied families, five of which, Palaemonidae, Anchistioididae, Hymenoceridae, Gnathophyllidae, and Kakaducarididae, occur in the Australian region. The Kakaducarididae Bruce, 1993, was originally placed as a subfamily of the Palaemonidae. A key to these families, with the exception of Kakaducarididae, was provided by Chace & Bruce (1993: 3). However, again, Short et al. (2013) synonymised Kakaducaridinae with Palaemonidae.

 

Diagnosis

Carapace without complete longitudinal suture; rostrum immovable; telson usually with two or three pairs of spines on posterior margin; antennule with two completely separate flagella, one with accessory branch; mandible usually with incisor process; first maxilla with mesial coxal lobe not unusually large, mesial basal lobe not reduced; second maxilla with 0, 1, or 2 endites; first maxilliped with exopodal lash; second maxilliped with distal segments articulating serially, not side by side, on penultimate segment, marginal setae on distal segment not especially stout or dense; third maxilliped composed of no more than six segments, antepenultimate segment neither articulated with, nor much wider than, next proximal segment; pereiopods without exopods or arthrobranchs, epipods, if present, not large, not extending dorsally into branchial chamber, first and second pair of pereiopods distinctly chelate, dactyl meeting opposing finger (pollex) when flexed, usually not crossing; first pereiopod not stouter than second; second pereiopod with undivided carpus (except in Thaumastocaris), with dactyl usually not distinctly serrate on extensor margin; second pleopod with appendix masculina in male. (After Chace & Bruce 1993).

 

History of changes

Note that this list may be incomplete for dates prior to September 2013.
Published As part of group Action Date Action Type Compiler(s)
05-Aug-2020 DECAPODA Latreille, 1802 30-Nov-2020 MODIFIED
22-Jul-2013 22-Jul-2013 MODIFIED
10-May-2012 10-May-2012 MODIFIED
12-Feb-2010 (import)