Taxonomic study of the freshwater shrimps genus Atyoida Randall, 1840 (Crustacea: Decapoda: Atyidae) in Polynesia with a revalidation of A. tahitensis Stimpson, 1860

Lorang, C., de Mazancourt, V., Marquet, G., & Keith, P. (2020). Taxonomic study of the freshwater shrimps genus Atyoida Randall, 1840 (Crustacea: Decapoda: Atyidae) in Polynesia with a revalidation of A. tahitensis Stimpson, 1860. Zootaxa, 4751(1), 55-74.

Following the various expeditions led by the team in Polynesia between 19893 and 2017, numerous specimens of freshwater shrimps belonging to the genus Atyoida (Crustacea, Decapoda, Atyidae) were collected and an integrative taxonomy study was made in order to verify their identity. The molecular study revealed that the specimens were separated in two distinct groups, one present in Marquesas Islands and Melanesia, the other one in Western Polynesia. The morphological study revealed that the first group was Atyoida pilipes (Newport, 1847) whereas the second was Atyoida tahitensis Stimpson, 1860, a species previously considered a junior synonym of A. pilipes and re-validated in this study. Apart from the geographical distributions not overlapping, these species can be distinguished by the color and patterns of their exoskeletton.

BOREA contact: Philippe Keith, philippe.keith@mnhn.fr