Abstract

The present study examines the diversity of the alpheid shrimp genus Salmoneus Holthuis, 1955 in the western Atlantic. Five species are described from the shallow waters of the Caribbean Sea: Salmoneus hispaniolensis sp. nov., from the southern coast of the Dominican Republic; S. camaroncito sp. nov. from Panama and Honduras; S. armatus sp. nov. from Panama; S. degravei sp. nov. from Panama, Colombia, Venezuela, and Tobago; and S. wehrtmanni sp. nov. from Panama, Honduras, Mexico (Yucatan) and Tobago. In addition, S. ortmanni (Rankin, 1898) is reported from new localities in Panama and Costa Rica; S. carvachoi Anker, 2007 from Mexico (Yucatan) and the Brazilian states of Pernambuco and Paraíba; S. cavicolus Felder & Manning, 1986 from Turks and Caicos Islands; and S. setosus Manning & Chace, 1990 from Mexico (Yucatan). Most specimens were collected at shallow depths (0.5–2 m), on soft bottoms ranging from mudsilt to coarse sand mixed rubble, under rocks or coral rubble; S. degravei sp. nov. appears to be associated with burrows of the callianassid ghost shrimp, Neocallichirus grandimana (Gibbes, 1850).