| Abstract |
Descriptions of the zoeal and decapodid stages of the ghost shrimp Callichirus islagrande were
based on laboratory cultures from a population inhabiting the coast of Louisiana. Whereas morphological
studies were based upon animals from mass cultures, 40–120 larvae from each of 8
parental females were reared individually to obtain stage-duration data. Larvae passed through 4 or
5 zoeal stages before molting to the decapodid stage. The proportion of individuals that molted to
a fifth zoeal stage varied widely (9–89%) between clutches of different parental females. The first
juvenile stage was usually reached 16–20 days after hatching, and durations of larval stages were
similar in larvae from different females. Morphological comparisons with congeneric species revealed
larvae of C. islagrande to be more similar to larvae of C. garthi, a species from the coast
of Chile, than to larvae of a Gulf of Mexico population of Callichirus major. |
