Abstract
Systematic is one of the primary emphases of tropical and subtropical marine biology today. Due in part, to the relatively large number of animal and plant forms present, as compared with the higher latitude, a tremendous amount of such work remains to be done in these areas. This is perhaps especially true with respect to decapod Crustacea. Here new species are being discovered and described, old descriptions are being amplified, and new groupings on even familial and generic levels are being constructed in attempts to express natural relationships more accurately.
One phase of systematics, the description of larvae, has taken on added importance within recent years. New and improved techniques which now permit the laboratory rearing of many decapods make it possible to describe complete early life histories. Larval stages hatched from eggs of known parentage can now be described and related, eliminating the uncertainty that so often existed in the past. With equipment for controlling environmental factors, additional information can be gathered on the effects of temperature, salinity, pressure, food, and light with respect to a young animal’s growth, morphology, and behavior.
The larval phase is perhaps the most critical time in a marine decapod’s life and knowledge of it is important for a comprehensive understanding of the animal and of the dynamics of the populations to which it belongs.
This is the study of one species of caridean shrimp which is commonly encountered in the shallow waters of south Florida. The results of the laboratory rearing of the larvae of the animal are described and additional information on post-larval biology related.