Abstract
The caprellidean fauna of Mauritius was investigated. Sixteen stations were selected around the island and different substrata (including algae, seagrass, sponges, hydroids, ascidians, echinoderms, encrusted dead corals, coral rubble, fine and coarse sediments) were sampled. The study reports seven species in six genera, five of which are new records for the island and one,Metaprotella mauritiensis is described as new to science. Metaprotella sandalensis Mayer, 1898 was the most common species in the coral reef system surrounding Mauritius.
References
Aoki, M. (1999) Morphological characteristics of young, maternal care behaviour and microhabitat use by caprellid amphipods. Journal of the Marine Biological Association of United Kingdom, 79, 629–638.
Aoki, M. & Asakura, A. (1995) Caprellids (Crustacea: Amphipoda: Caprellidae) collected from the Ogasawara (Bonin) Islands. Journal of Natural History of the Museum Chiba, 3, 191–194.
Appadoo, C. & Steele, D.H. (1998) Shallow-water marine gammaridean amphipods of Mauritius Island. Crustaceana, 71, 633–645.
Appadoo, C., Myers, A.A. & Fagoonee, I. (2002a) The genera Quadrimaera and Maera (Amphipoda: Gammaridea: Melitidae) from Mauritius. Journal of Natural History, 36, 641– 673.
Appadoo, C., Myers, A.A. & Fagoonee, I. (2002b) The genus Mallacoota (Crustacea, Amphipoda, Melitidae) from Mauritius, with description of a new species. Journal of Natural History, 36, 767–796.
Arimoto, I. (1976) Taxonomic studies of caprellids (Crustacea, Amphipoda, Caprellidea) found in the Japanese and adjacent waters. Special Publications from the Seto Marine Biological Laboratory, 3, 1–299.
Barnard, J.L. (1976) Amphipoda (Crustacea) from the Indo-Pacific tropics: a review. Micronesia, 12, 169–176.
Berents, P.B. (1983) The Melitidae of Lizard Island and adjacent reefs, the Great Barrier Reef, Australia (Crustacea: Amphipoda). Records of the Australian Museum, 35, 101–143.
Dana, J.D. (1853). Crustacea. Part II. United States Exploring Expedition, 14, 689–1618.
Gable, M. F. & Lazo-Wasem, E.A. (1987) The Caprellids (Amphipoda: Caprellida) of Bermuda: a survey of specimens collected from 1876–1987, including cave inhabitants, and the description of Deutella aspiducha, new species. Proceedings of the Biological Society of Washington, 100, 629–639.
Gherardi, F. & McLaughlin, P.A. (1994) Shallow-water hermit crabs (Crustacea: Decapoda: Anomura: Paguridea) from Mauritius and Rodrigues islands, with the description of a new species of Calcinus. Raffles Bulletin of Zoology, 42, 613–656.
Guerra-García, J.M. (2002a) Metaprotella tanzaniensis, a new caprellid (Crustacea: Amphipoda) from Tanzania, with a key to the species of Metaprotella and discussion on the family Protellidae. Bulletin of Marine Science, 70, 909–918.
Guerra-García, J.M. (2002b) Revision of the genus Noculacia Mayer, 1903 (Crustacea: Amphipoda: Caprellidea) with the description of two new species. Organisms, Diversity and Evolution, 2, 351–352.
Guerra-García, J.M. (2002c) Redescription of five rare caprellids (Crustacea: Amphipoda: Caprellidea) collected from Tanzanian coasts. Helgoland Marine Research, 55, 221–231.
Guerra-García, J.M. (2002d) Two new species of Deutella Mayer, 1890 (Crustacea: Amphipoda: Pariambidae) collected by the R. V. “Anton Bruun” during the International Indian Ocean Expedition 1963–1964. Zootaxa, 74, 1–18.
Guerra-García, J.M. & Thiel, M. (2001) The caprellid fauna (Crustacea: Amphipoda: Caprellidea) from the coast of Coquimbo, Northern-central Chile, with a taxonomic key for species identification. Revista Chilena de Historia Natural, 74, 873–883.
Haswell, W.A. (1880) On some Amphipods from Australia and Tasmania. Proceedings of the Linnean Society of New South Wales, 5, 97–105.
Larsen, K. (1997) A new species of Metaprotella (Crustacea: Amphipoda: Caprellidea) from east Africa, with key to the genera of Protellidae and discussion of generic characters. Journal of Natural History, 31, 1203–1212.
Laubitz, D.R. (1972) The Caprellidae (Crustacea, Amphipoda) of Atlantic and Arctic Canada. National Museum of Natural Sciences Publications in Biological Oceanography, 4, 1–82.
Laubitz, D.R. (1995) Caprellidea (Crustacea: Amphipoda) from the Southern and Western Indian Ocean. Mésogée, 54, 81–100.
Ledoyer, M. (1978) Amphipodes gammariens (Crustacea) des biotopes cavitaires organogènes récifaux de l´île Maurice (Océan Indien). Mauritius Institute Bulletin, 8, 197–332.
Lim, S.T.A. & Alexander, C.G. (1986) Reproductive behaviour of the caprellid amphipod Caprella scaura typica Mayer, 1890. Marine Behaviour and Physiology, 12, 217–230.
Mayer, P. (1890) Die Caprelliden des Golfes von Neapel und der angrenzenden Meeres-Abschnitte. Fauna und Flora des Golfes von Neapel, 17, 1–55.
Mayer, P. (1898) Metaprotella sandalensis n. sp. In: Willey, A (Ed) Zoological results based on material from New Britain, New Guinea, Loyalty Island and elsewhere, collected during the years 1895, 1896, and 1897, Cambridge, pp. 53–56.
Mayer, P. (1903) Die Caprelliden der Siboga-Expedition. Siboga Expeditie, 34, 1–160. McCain, J.C. (1968) The Caprellidae (Crustacea: Amphipoda) of the western North Atlantic. United States National Museum Bulletin, 278, 1–147.
McCain, J.C. & Steinberg, J.E. (1970) Amphipoda–I, Caprellidea–I, Family Caprellidae. In: Gruner, H.E, & Holthuis, L.B (Ed) Crustaceorum Catalogus, 2, 1–78.
Michel, C. (1964) Check list of the Crustacea Brachyura (crabs) recorded from Mauritius. Mauritius Institute Bulletin, 6, 1–48.
Müller, H.G. (1990) New species and records of coral reef inhabiting Caprellidae from Bora Bora and Moorea, Society Islands (Crustacea: Amphipoda). Revue Suisse de Zoologie, 97, 827–842.
Myers, A.A. (1993) Dispersal and endemicity in gammaridean Amphipoda. Journal of Natural History, 27, 901–908.
Myers, A.A. & Giller, P.S. (1988) Process, pattern and scale in biogeography. In: Myers, A. A. & Giller, P.S. (Ed) Analytical biogeography: an integrated approach to the study of animal and plant distributions, New York, pp. 3–21.
Quitete, J.M.P.A. (1972) Hemiagina costai, nova espécie de Caprellidae da costa brasileira (Crustacea: Amphipoda). Atas da Sociedade de Biologia do Rio de Janeiro, 15, 165–168.
Schultz, M.K. & Alexander, C.G. (2001) Aggressive behaviour of Caprella scaura typica Mayer, 1890 (Crustacea: Amphipoda). Marine and Freshwater Behaviour and Physiology, 34, 181– 187.
Serejo, C. (1997) Hemiaegina costai Quitete, 1972 a synonym of Hemiaegina minuta Mayer, 1890 (Amphipoda: Caprellidae). Crustaceana, 70, 630–632.
Sundara Raj, B. (1927) Suborder Caprellidea (Laemodipoda). The littoral fauna of Krusada Island in the Gulf of Manaar. The Bulletin of the Madras Government Museum. Natural History Section, 1, 125–128.
Takeuchi, I. & Hino, A. (1997) Community structure of caprellid Amphipoda (Crustacea) on seagrasses in Otsuchi Bay, northeastern Japan, with reference of the association of Caprella japonica (Schurin) and Phyllospadix iwatensis Makino. Fisheries Science, 63, 327–331.
Takeuchi, I. & Sawamoto, S. (1998) Distribution of caprellid amphipods (Crustacea) in the western North Pacific based on the CSK International Zooplankton Collection. Plankton Biology and Ecology, 45, 225–230.
Templeton, R. (1836) Description of some undescribed exotic Crustacea. Transaction of the Entomological Society of London, 1, 185–198.
Thiel, M., Guerra-García, J.M, Lancellotti, D.A. & Vásquez, N. (2003) The distribution of littoral caprellids (Crustacea: Amphipoda: Caprellidea) along the Pacific coast of continental Chile. Revista Chilena de Historia Natural, 76, 203–218.
Utinomi, H. (1947) Caprellidea of Japan and adjacent waters. Seibutu Supplement, 1, 68–82.