6 - Sphaeromatidae::“Cute As Buttons”

Paracerceis caudata 219
3. 6, pleotelsonic notch deep, margins usually with two teeth on each
side; strong median tubercle on anterior pleotelson bluntly bifid; 9,
pleotelson with one or two rounded median tubercles and 2 smaller
tubercles on each side caudata
6, pleotelsonic notch shallow, with tiny lateral denticles; median
tubercle of pleotelson conical, acute; 9, pleotelson with three large
conical acute tubercles and several smaller scattered tubercles in
anterior half cohenae
Paracerceis caudata (Say, 1818)
Figure 96
DIAGNOSIS 6 8.1 mm, 9 6.4 mm. 8: Pleotelson with blunt median bifid
tubercle, with two smaller tubercles on each side. Pleotelsonic notch usually
with two strong denticles on each margin, basal median tooth lacking.
Uropodal exopod reaching well beyond pleotelson, slightly bowed, with 2—4
setose bumps on outer margin. 9: Pleonite 5 with three low tubercles.
Pleotelsonic apex broadly rounded in dorsal view, with two rounded median
tubercles and two smaller tubercles on each side. Uropodal rami subequal,
lamellar, outer distal angle of each acute.
RECORDS Bermuda; New Jersey to Florida Keys; Yucatan to Venezuela;
Turks and Caicos Islands; Cuba; Puerto Rico; Bahamas; Jamaica; Haiti; St.
Maartens, 0.2-127 m; St. Lucia; Gulf of Mexico. Found in the following
algae: Caulerpa, Halimeda, Turbinaria> Amphiroa, Laurencia, Dictyota; between
sponges and tunicates on red mangrove roots; in coral rubble; in spur and
groove zone of reefs, lagoon, back reef, seagrass flats, and fringing
mangroves.
REMARKS Menzies and Glynn (1968:55, fig. 22f) named and figured P.
caudata var. brevipes from Puerto Rico. This variant was characterized as hav­
ing the margins of the pleotelsonic notch lacking denticles. Given the con­
siderable variation in ornamentation in this species, we feel that no validity
can be given to the name "brevipes."
This is the commonest sphaeromatid in the Caribbean, and it has very
broad ecological requirements, being found in a wide range of habitats and
depths.