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Type: Article
Published: 2013-10-21
Page range: 22–32
Abstract views: 32
PDF downloaded: 1

Morphological and molecular description of the late-stage larvae of Alima Leach, 1817 (Crustacea: Stomatopoda) from Lizard Island, Australia

Department of Biological Sciences, University of Maryland Baltimore County, Baltimore MD 21250 USA.
Department of Biological Sciences, University of Maryland Baltimore County, Baltimore MD 21250 USA.
Department of Marine Invertebrates, Australian Museum, Sydney, NSW 2010, Australia.
Department of Biology, University of South Dakota, Vermillion, SD 57069 USA.
Crustacea Stomatopoda Lizard Island Australia

Abstract

Alima pacifica and A. orientalis are stomatopods commonly found at Lizard Island, Great Barrier Reef, Australia. There are currently no descriptions that link the larvae to the adult morphotype despite the frequent occurrence of the last larval stage of these two species. We used DNA barcoding of the cytochrome oxidase I (COI) gene to link the last stage larvae of A. pacifica and A. orientalis to the respective adult morphotype. Detailed morphological descriptions of the late larva of each species are provided and compared to other described last-stage Alima larvae. These data support previous studies that suggest paraphyly of the genus Alima.