BIOCHEMICAL VARIATION IN ALPHEUS (DECAPODA, CARIDEA, ALPHEIDAE) FROM THE COAST OF TEXAS - EVIDENCE FOR CRYPTIC SPECIES

Ambiguities in the identification and nomenclature of the snapping shr imp, Alpheus heterochaelis, led to a preliminary assessment of allozym ic variation in Alpheus from Galveston and Port Aransas, Texas. From a total of 39 animals, eleven loci were resolved, of which 9 were polym orphic. At both localities, these loci were entirely concordant in par titioning the individuals into two discrete electrophoretic groups; 6 loci exhibited alternate alleles without corresponding heterozygotes. The genetic similarity of the two groups was estimated at 0.209. These data support the hypothesis that two species exist within what is cur rently recognized as A. heterochaelis along the coast of Texas.