Pontonides loloata vs. P. ankeri

Hi guys

I know this forum may not be the best for this, as most of you don't collect animals, even for scientific purposes ..

anyway, a colleague of mine is searching for specimens of whip and wire-coral associated shrimps, Pontonides spp, to determine whether Pontonides ankeri Marin, 2007 is the same as Pontonides loloata Bruce, 2005

morphological differences are minor, but the two species can be distinghuished by colour: P. loloata has one pale band crossing the carapace, while P. ankeri has two (see below)

maybe somebody has photographs showing both forms on the same host, this would be at least very suspicious, indicating that the two species may be the same .. on the other hand, host partition is not uncommon, so specimens are always better ! also, DNA analyses may be needed for genetic confirmation

you can post your replies here or email me:

artour_a(AT)yahoo.com

cheers

Art

Hi Art --

Please be a little clearer - are you referring to the presence or absence of a second band on the thorax (anterior half of the body)? It would also be helpful if you mentioned whether images G & H are the same species or show the difference between loloata & ankeri.

I'm sure I've see pics of Pontonides with just one band. Foks, Art's godchild comes from Vietnam but may have a wider distribution in the Indo Pacific. It's published in this paper: http://www.mapress.com/zootaxa/2007f/z01635p021f.pdf Unfortunately the front page is all that's available on the web.

Wormly yours,

Leslie

ok ok ok

P. ankeri (G) has 2 bands on the CARAPACE

P. loloata (H) has only 1

I can send a complete pdf to anybody interested

Art

Thanks Art. I didn't realize that "carapace" only refers to the anterior part of the body in crustaceans. Forgive me for being picky -- I just wanted to be sure everyone would understand what you meant! And I would love a pdf of the paper. Incidentally, what's the species with bands made up of golden spots? I see pictures of that one a lot from Japan and Indonesia.

Thanks Art. I didn't realize that "carapace" only refers to the anterior part of the body in crustaceans. Forgive me for being picky -- I just wanted to be sure everyone would understand what you meant! And I would love a pdf of the paper. Incidentally, what's the species with bands made up of golden spots? I see pictures of that one a lot from Japan and Indonesia.

quite disappointed that nobody replied (except for you Leslie !)

nobody cares about my shrimp

the one with golden spots is probably undescribed, and it's not sure that it is a Pontonides

off to Peru in 10 days ! will explore the Amazon, have 3 weeks

Art