Central America and the Gulf of Venezuela; no 

 other ajiparent differences exist between the speci- 

 mens examined. The discontinuity in the range 

 of variation in tliis character in the western At- 

 lantic is in contrast to the observations by Ros- 

 signol and Eepelin (1962) who were working 

 with this subspecies along the west coast of Africa 

 (see above) . 



Relationships 

 (See under P. duorarum duorarum.) 



Reproduction 



SUBADULT STAGE- SEXUAL MATURITY 



The number of small specimens examined was 

 not sufficient to permit a conclusion as to the size 

 range at whicli they become subadults. Males were 

 found with petasmal endopods first joined at 16 

 mm. c.l., 73 mm. t.l. The minimum size at which 

 females had the thelycum fully developed was 16 

 nun. C.L, 73 mm. t.l. 



COPULATION 



Copulation has not been observed, but it most 

 probably takes place between a soft-shelled female 

 and a hard-shelled male for the same reasons that 

 were mentioned earlier for P. d. duorarum. Infor- 

 mation on impregnation is too meager to allow 

 conclusions. 



OVARY DEVELOPMENT 



My observations show that in P. d. notialis th.& 

 ovaries go through five basic stages that are simi- 

 lar to those described for P. d. duaranim- and can 

 be recognized by the same characters of size and 

 color. 



SPAWNING 



The presence of vei-y small juveniles in .shallow 

 coastal waters of southern Camagiiey, Cuba, as 

 well as in Laguna Doctor, Playa de Baracoa, Cuba, 

 throughout most of tlie year seems to indicate that 

 spawning is probably continuous around the is- 

 land. The preliminary investigation of specimens 

 from Cuban waters by Perez Farfante et al. (1961) 

 showed that mature females were present in the 

 waters south of Camagiiey from March through 

 May. 



SEX RATIO 



In inshore waters and coastal waters to 12 fm., 

 the ratio of males to females seems to be approxi- 

 mately 1 : 1. Perez Farfant« et al. (1961) found the 

 entire sample fi-om Laguna Doctor, Playa de Bara- 

 coa, Cuba, contained 54 percent males and 46 per- 



cent females, and a sample from the southern coast 

 of Cuba had 51 percent males and 49 percent 

 females. 



Postembryonic Development 



LARVAE, POSTLARVAE, AND JUVENILES 



No studies have been conducted on either larval 

 or postlarval stages of this shrimp. 



My studies of small shrimp showed that the 

 adrostral sulci are only faintly indicated in juve- 

 niles 18 mm. t.l., but are clearly distinct in speci- 

 mens 19 mm. t.l. 



In the development of "candied shrimp" sex can 

 be determined when they reach about 20 mm. t.l. 

 At this length the endopods of the first pair of 

 pleopods in the males are situated more proximally 

 on the bases and are a little longer than in the fe- 

 males. In addition, males have a sharp ridge along 

 the median line of stemite XIV, which increases 

 slightly in height anteriorly and forms a sharp 

 angle at its anteroventral extremity. Females have 

 no ridge along the median line of stemite XIV, 

 which instead is produced to a median point. 



The following discussion on the development of 

 juveniles consists largely of a summary of progres- 

 sive changes occurring in the petasma and the 

 thelycum. In males 9 mm. c.l., 42 mm. t.l., the ven- 

 tral costae of the petasma may be armed with at 

 least one distomarginal spine, and 12 mm. c.l., 55 

 mm. t.l., the ventral costae possess several disto- 

 marginal spines and relatively strong subapical 

 teeth. At 16 mm. c.l., 73 mm. t.l., males may have 

 the petasma jomed. 



Progressive changes in tlie thelycum occur as 

 follows. In females with a 5 mm. c.l., 24 mm. t.l., 

 the lateral plates are distinct, and at 9 mm. c.l., 42 

 mm. t.l., their anterior margins touch or almost 

 touch the apex of the horns of the median protu- 

 berance. At 12 mm. c.l., 55 mm. t.l., the posterior 

 process often bears a small posteromedian carina, 

 which does not project caudally, and the lateral 

 plates partially cover the horns of the median pro- 

 tuberance. Larger females exhibit this typically 

 undivided median carina. As stated earlier, some 

 females 16 mm. c.l., 73 mm. t.l. have the lateral 

 plates contiguous along median bordei-s, and, thus, 

 tlie thelycum witli functional form. 

 GROWTH 



The only information available comes from the 

 laboratoiy experiment by Perez Farfante et al. 

 (1961) during which juveniles 25 mm. t.l. gi'ew to 



526 



U.S. FISH AND WILDLIFE SERVICE 



