PUERULUS OF THE SPINY LOBSTER PANULIRUS GUTTATUS (LATREILLE, 1804) (PALINURIDAE)

The puerulus of Panulirus guttatus is described and compared with that of P. argus, a sympatric species. Comparative morphological data show that the former has a more specialized form than the latter and hence is more recent in evolutionary terms. Features characterizing the pue rulus of P. guttatus are its relatively large size, long spatulate ant ennae, and well developed sternal spines. The possible adaptive value of the long spatulate antennae for selection of specific substrata and /or navigation through inshore waters is discussed in relation to the ecology of the juvenile and adult phases. Pueruli of I! guttatus are n ot found in the surface collectors, resembling marine vegetation, used to monitor the influx of pueruli of P. argus into coastal waters on t he Caribbean coast of Mexico. Moreover, small juveniles of fl guttatus are never found in the natural habitat of those of P. argus, and larg e juveniles and adults of P. guttatus seem restricted to the shallow c oral reef habitat, in contrast to similar phases of P. argus, which oc cupy a vast array of habitats and depths throughout their benthic life . It is hypothesized that the pueruli of both species settle in differ ent habitats, which would partly explain their sharing of the same geo graphic distribution.