RANGE EXTENSION OF THE SHRIMP () BRASILIENSIS LATREILLE, 1817 (, )

ISABEL PEREZ F ARF ANTE National Marine Fisheries Service, Systematics Laboratory, Smithsonian Institution

ABSTRACT Previously Penaeus brasiliensis had been found along the North Amer- ican coast of the Gulf of Mexico only off southwestern Florida. Recently one subadult individual was caught southwest of Cayos Areas, Bahia de Campeche, and six juveniles in northern Yucatan, thus demonstrating that the species is present in the southern part of the gulf.

Penaells (Melicertlls) brasiliensis Latreille, 1817, is a wide-ranging spe- cies occurring in the western Atlantic from off Cape Hatteras, North Caro- lina, southward through the West Indies and the Caribbean coasts of Mexico, Central and South America to Rio Grande, Rio Grande do SuI. It also lives in the Bermudas. In the Gulf of Mexico along the North American coast, however, it has been recorded only from the southwestern part of Florida. Some specimens were found in eastern Florida Bay by Costello & Allen ( 1964), and two males were reported from the Tortugas Grounds, in localities northeast of Marquesas Keys: one by Salam an, Allen, & Costello (1968) and one by Perez Farfante (1969). The latter shrimp was taken at about Lat. 24°54'N, Long. 82°15'W, in water 24 m deep. Recently, a subadult female (carapace length 24 mm) of the species was collected in the southern part of the Gulf of Mexico, in BahIa de Campeche, southwest of Cayos Arcas. This specimen was caught at OREGON II Sta. 11005, Lat. 20017'N, Long. 92°07'W, at a depth of 66 m, on June 16, 1970. I have also examined two juvenile females (carapace lengths 16 and 17 mm) and four juvenile males (carapace lengths 9-12 mm) taken between Dzilam de Bravo and Yalkubul, Yucatan. These juveniles were collected by Manuel J. Salls Ramirez, on October 10, 1962, during an exploratory trip under the auspices of the Instituto Nacional de Investigaciones Biol6gico- Pesqueras, Mexico. Both lots are deposited in the Smithsonian Institution, where they are listed under USNM (United States National Museum) 137499 and USNM 137498, respectively. The latter records indicate that P. brasiliensis ranges from Isla Contoy, Quintana Roo, westward along the coast of Yucatan, and penetrates well within the gulf, to Cayos Arcas in BahIa de Campeche. It is possible that this species might be found in the commercial catches of the Estado de 746 Bulletin of Marine Science [21 (3) Campeche, together with P. duorarum duorarum Burkenroad and P. aztecus aztecus Ives. The present observations represent a westward extension of the range of the species, of about 560 km, from Isla Contoy; thus it is now clear that P. brasiliensis is present in the southwestern part of the Gulf of Mexico. The distribution of P. brasiliensis in the waters of North America has been gathered in a piecemeal fashion. Burkenroad (1939) gave the first authentic record of the species from the continent: Cape Hatteras, which is the northernmost limit of its range. Eldred (1960) was the first to report its occurrence in Biscayne Bay, and Joyce (1965), in northeast Florida. Saloman, Allen & Costello (1968) recorded specimens from southeast of the Florida Keys, and Perez Farfante (1969) added several records from the east and southeast coasts of Florida. This species is undoubtedly scarce along the coasts of the United States, except in Biscayne Bay, and Mexico, excluding Isla Contoy. In Biscayne Bay it comprises a relatively high percentage of the bait shrimp fishery dur- ing the summer and early fall (Costello, 1963; Saloman, Costello & Allen, 1968), and in the waters of Isla Contoy it is fished occasionally. On the other hand, P. brasiliensis is very abundant in some areas of Central Amer- ica and South America, especially from Guyana to Baia de Maraj6, Brasil, where it contributes large quantities to the commercial catches which yield several millions of dollars a year.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I am indebted to Harvey R. Bullis, National Marine Fisheries Service, for placing at my disposal the specimen collected near Cayos Arcas. I am also grateful to the staff of the Instituto Nacional de Investigaciones Biol6- gico-Pesqueras, Mexico, for helping me sort the collections of penaeids, among which were found the specimens recorded here from Yucatan.

SUMARIO

AMPLIACION DEL AREA DE DISTRIBUCI6N DEL CAMAR6N Penaeus (Melicertus) brasiliensis LATREILLE, 1817 (DECAPODA, PENAEIDAE) P. brasiliensis se encuentra en el Athintico occidental, el Caribe incluido, desde las proximidades del Cabo Hatteras, Carolina del Norte, hasta Rio Grande, Rio Grande do Sui, y en las Bermudas. En eJ Golfo de Mexico, sin embargo, s610habia sido hallado en las aguas del suroeste de la Florida. Recientemente he identificado una hembra que se captur6 al suroeste de los Cayos Areas, Bahia de Campeche, y seis juveniles procedentes del tramo de costa entre Dzilam de Bravo y Yalkubul, al norte de Yucatan. Estos hallazgos demuestran que la especie se extiende desde el Caribe hacia el 1971] Perez Farfante: Range Extension, Penaeus brasiliensis 747 oeste y penetra en la parte suroeste del Golfo de Mexico. Es posible que forme parte de las capturas comerciales del Estado de Campeche. P. brasiliensis es escaso en las costas de los Estados Unidos, excepto en la BahIa de Biscayne, y en las de Mexico, salvo en las aguas de la Isla Contoy. En la BahIa de Biscayne constituye un porcentaje relativamente alto de la producci6n de camarones para carnada durante el verano y prin- cipios del otono y en la Isla Con toy se pesca s610 esponidicamente. En cambio, la especie es muy abundante en ciertas partes de las costas de la America Central y del Sur, particularmente desde Guyana hasta la Baia de Maraj6, Brasil, donde constituye una gran proporci6n de las grandes cap- turas, por valor de varios millones de d61ares, que se obtienen en la regi6n.

LITERATURE CITED BURKENROAD, MARTIN D. 1939. Further observations on Penaeidae of the northern Gulf of Mexico. Bull. Bingham oceanogr. Coli., 6(6): 1-62,36 figs. COSTELLO, THOMAS J. 1963. Pink shrimp life history. Pp. 35-37, 1 fig., in Biological Laboratory, Galveston, Tex., fishery research for the year ending June 30, 1962. Circ. Fish Wildl. Serv., Wash., No. 161, iii + 101 pp. COSTELLO, THOMAS J. AND DONALD M. ALLEN 1964. Pink shrimp life history. Pp. 30-31, 1 fig., in Biological Laboratory, Galveston, Tex., fishery research for the year ending June 30, 1963. Circ. Fish Wild!. Serv., Wash., No. 183, iv + 106 pp. ELDRED, BONNIE 1960. A note on the occcurrence of the shrimp, Penaeus brasiliensis Latreille, in Biscayne Bay, Florida. Quart. Jl Fla Acad. Sci., 23: 164-165. JOYCE, EDWIN A., JR. 1965. The commercial shrimps of the northeast coast of Florida. Prof. Pap. Ser. mar. Lab. Fla., No.6, 224 pp., 50 figs. PEREZ FARFANTE, ISABEL 1969. Western Atlantic shrimps of the genus Penaeus. Fishery Bull. Fish Wildl. Servo U.S., 67; x + 461-591,77 figs. SALOMAN, CARL H., DONALD M. ALLEN, AND THOMAS J. COSTELLO 1968. Distribution of three species of shrimp (genus Penaeus) in waters contiguous to southern Florida. Bull. Mar. Sci., 18: 343-350, 1 fig.