Alpheus mitis

Alpheus mitis Dana, 1852

Original Description	Alpheus mitis Dana, 1852a: 22; Dana, 1852b: 549; Dana, 1855: pl. 35, fig. 1.
Classification	Arthropoda: Crustacea: Malacostraca: Decapoda: Alpheidae.
Synonymy	None.
Type Locality	Balabac Strait between S Philippines and N Borneo (symbol on the map).
Type Material	Inextant.
Common Name	None.
Taxonomic Status	Valid but taxonomic status obscure (Chace, 1988).
Geographic Distribution	Tropical Indo-West Pacific [IWP]: with certainty known only from the type locality, Balabac Strait (see map).
Frequency	Extremely rare.
Habitat	Unknown.
Depth Range	Unknown.
Life History and Behavior	Unknown.
Related Species	Alpheus aff. paracrinitus (Anker, pers. obs.) [IWP]; A. bengalensis Coutière, 1905 [IWP]; A. alpheopsides Coutière, 1905 [IWP]; A. paralpheopsides Coutière, 1905 [IWP]; A. tenuipes De Man, 1910 [IWP]; A. paracrinitus Miers, 1881 [EA-CA-WA] and other Atlantic and eastern Pacific species of the A. paracrinitus complex (see under A. paracrinitus). The poor knowledge of A. mitis (short description, possibly inaccurate illustrations, loss of type) does not allow to compare this species adequately with other species, however, it may differ by the proportionally broader palm of the major chela.
Size	Total body length of the type was 19 mm.
Color Pattern	Unknown.
Molecular Barcode	Unavailable.
Remarks	The taxonomic identity of A. mitis remains problematical (see Banner and Banner, 1982; Banner and Banner, 1983; Chace, 1988); records from Truk (Miya, 1984) and Taiwan (Jeng and Chang, 1985) most likely do not refer to A. mitis, but instead to a species from the A. aff. paracrinitus complex.
Major References	Dana, 1852a; Dana, 1852b; Dana, 1855; [original description and illustrations]; Banner and Banner, 1982 [erroneous record]; Banner and Banner, 1983 [remarks on previous records]; Miya, 1984 [possibly erroneous record]; Jeng and Chang, 1985 [erroneous record]; Chace, 1988 [remarks on taxonomic status].

To species list