Refining southwestern Atlantic peppermint shrimp biodiversity: description of a new species of Lysmata (Decapoda: Lysmatidae) using an integrative systematic approach

Currently, 14 of the 50 species of Lysmata are known to possess a long accessory branch with more than two articles. Historically, Lysmata intermedia and Lysmata moorei were the only two 'long-branch' species inhabiting the southwestern Atlantic. Here we describe, based on morphological, molecular and colour pattern data, a new species of Lysmata possessing a long accessory branch from Pernambuco, northeastern Brazil. Our maximum-likelihood analysis recovered Lysmata elisa sp. n. as a sister species to Lysmata jundalini. Both species are closely related to Lysmata holthuisi and L. intermedia. The four aforementioned species comprise the L. intermedia species complex. The new species may be morphologically distinguished from the other closely related species by different sets of characters, which include details of the dorsolateral antennular flagellum, armature of ischium of the second pair of pereiopods, intraorbital process shape and relative proportions of pereiopods. Our results reinforce the importance of refining biodiversity data through the application of integrative taxonomic approaches to expand the knowledge of local and global biodiversity. The biodiversity of Lysmata deserves special attention, as they are intensively exploited in the aquarium trade.

Automated summary

Currently, out of the 50 species of Lysmata, 14 species have a long accessory branch. A new species, Lysmata elisa sp. n., with a long accessory branch has been discovered in northeastern Brazil. This finding highlights the significance of using integrative taxonomic approaches to increase our understanding of biodiversity.