Identification of Wild Postlarvae of the Penaeid Shrimps, Genus Penaeus, in the Pacific Coast of Central America

Abstract

Five species of penaeid shrimps in the genus Penaeus exist in the Pacific coast of Central America and are commercially important. The morphology of their wild postlarvae has not been studied for all the species, causing difficulties of reliable identification and resource management. The present study examined the wild postlarvae of the five species and describes sequentially their morphological characters such as dorsal spinules, antennal spine, relative rostral length, thoracic spines, and rostral teeth. These characters were used to prepare an identification key for the wild postlarvae of the five species. The dorsal spinules on the 6th abdominal somite and those around the epigastric tooth were found to be subgeneric diagnostic characters, and the taxonomic importance of the thoracic spines was demonstrated. © 1994, The Japanese Society of Fisheries Science. All rights reserved.