The rediscovery of the freshwater shrimp Macrobrachium crenulatum in Jamaica

A record of the freshwater shrimps of Jamaica has been provided by Hart (1961b). His study includes taxonomical comments and notes on the locations at which the various species were caught. Since then Holthuis (1963a) has described a new subterranean freshwater shrimp, Troglocubanus jamaicensis, still known only from its typelocality near Goshen, Jamaica, and Chace & Hobbs (1969) have listed all the freshwater shrimps recorded in Jamaica up to that time. Subsequently, Hunte (1975) reported the presence of Atya lanipes Holthuis in Jamaica for the first time. Macrobrachium crenulatum Holthuis (1950a) has not been reported from Jamaica since 1910, and both Hart (1961b) and Choudhury (1971a) considered it no longer extant in the island. Extensive collecting during the present study has produced a single male specimen of this species with post-orbital carapace length 12.9 mm. The purpose of the present paper is to update the faunal record of Jamaican freshwater shrimps by confirming the disputed presence of M. crenulatum in the island. There are therefore fourteen species of freshwater shrimps now considered extant in Jamaica, and these are listed in the following Table. Hunte (in press) has discussed the ecological factors affecting the distribution of the more common of these shrimps throughout Jamaica.