Paracerceis caudata 219 



3. S , pleotelsonic notch deep, margins usually with two teeth on each 

 side; strong median tubercle on anterior pleotelson bluntly bifid; 9 , 

 pleotelson with one or two rounded median tubercles and 2 smaller 



tubercles on each side caudata 



6 , pleotelsonic notch shallow, with tiny lateral denticles; median 

 tubercle of pleotelson conical, acute; 9 , pleotelson with three large 

 conical acute tubercles and several smaller scattered tubercles in 

 anterior half cohenae 



Paracerceis caudata (Say, 1818) 

 Figure 96 



DIAGNOSIS 6 8.1 mm, 9 6.4 mm. 6: Pleotelson with blunt median bifid 

 tubercle, with two smaller tubercles on each side. Pleotelsonic notch usually 

 with two strong denticles on each margin, basal median tooth lacking. 

 Uropodal exopod reaching well beyond pleotelson, slightly bowed, with 2—4 

 setose bumps on outer margin. 9 : Pleonite 5 with three low tubercles. 

 Pleotelsonic apex broadly rounded in dorsal view, with two rounded median 

 tubercles and two smaller tubercles on each side. Uropodal rami subequal, 

 lamellar, outer distal angle of each acute. 



RECORDS Bermuda; New Jersey to Florida Keys; Yucatan to Venezuela; 

 Turks and Caicos Islands; Cuba; Puerto Rico; Bahamas; Jamaica; Haiti; St. 

 Maartens, 0.2—127 m; St. Lucia; Gulf of Mexico. Found in the following 

 algae: Caulerpa, Halimeda, Turbinaria, Amphiroa, Laurencia, Dictyota; between 

 sponges and tunicates on red mangrove roots; in coral rubble; in spur and 

 groove zone of reefs, lagoon, back reef, seagrass flats, and fringing 

 mangroves. 



REMARKS Menzies and Glynn (1968:55, fig. 22f) named and figured P. 

 caudata var. brevipes from Puerto Rico. This variant was characterized as hav- 

 ing the margins of the pleotelsonic notch lacking denticles. Given the con- 

 siderable variation in ornamentation in this species, we feel that no validity 

 can be given to the name "brevipes." 



This is the commonest sphaeromatid in the Caribbean, and it has very 

 broad ecological requirements, being found in a wide range of habitats and 

 depths. 



