Larval development of the rhynchocinetid shrimp, Rhynchocinetes conspiciocellus Okuno & Takeda (Decapoda: Caridea: Rhynchocinetidae) reared under laboratory conditions

Abstract

The larvae of Rhynchocinetes conspiciocellus Okuno & Takeda, 1992, pass through eleven zoeal stages and one megalopal stage before metamorphosing into the juveniles under laboratory conditions. The morphological characters of the larval and juvenile stages are described with illustrations and compared with those of Cinetorhynchus rigens (Gordon). The egg of R. conspiciocellus is small with the pre-eyed egg size of 0.45×0.56 mm (volume 0.062 mm^3), and the number of eggs of each ovigerous female varies from 185 to 5075 (mean 977). As the zoeae have a long planktonic larval period, the geographical distribution range of the adults may be broader than the known range in the Indo-Pacific region.