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Redescription of the larval stages of Leptodius exaratus (H. Milne Edwards, 1834) from the Red Sea, with notes on the male gonopods

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Abstract

Larvae of Leptodius exaratus from an ovigerous female collected from the intertidal region of North Obhur, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, were reared in the laboratory up to megalopa stage, and all the larval stages are described and illustrated. Mostly, former descriptions of this species were inconsistent, made about two decades before, and some were incomplete. Therefore, all the zoeal and megalopa stages of L. exaratus are redescribed and illustrated. The morphological features of the larvae of the present study were compared with those of the same species and L. affinis described from worldwide. The male gonopds of L. exaratus collected from the study sites are described and compared with those of the male gonopds of L. exaratus sensu lato described from elsewhere using SEM micrographs.

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Acknowledgements

The scientific research cooperation between King Abdulaziz University (KAU), Faculty of Marine Sciences (FMS), Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, and the Senckenberg Research Institute (SRI), Frankfurt, Germany, in the framework of the Red Sea Biodiversity Project, during which the present material was collected, was funded by KAU GRANT NO. “I/1/432-DSR”. The authors acknowledge, with thanks, KAU and SRI for technical and financial support.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Faculty of Marine Sciences, King Abdul Aziz University, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia

    Ali M. Al-Aidaroos, A. A. J. Kumar & Ahmed E. Al-Haj

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  1. Ali M. Al-Aidaroos
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  2. A. A. J. Kumar
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  3. Ahmed E. Al-Haj
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Correspondence to Ali M. Al-Aidaroos.

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Communicated by M. Sonnewald

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Al-Aidaroos, A.M., Kumar, A.A.J. & Al-Haj, A.E. Redescription of the larval stages of Leptodius exaratus (H. Milne Edwards, 1834) from the Red Sea, with notes on the male gonopods. Mar Biodiv 47, 1171–1184 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12526-017-0692-5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12526-017-0692-5

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