Presence of Palaemon Macrodactylus Rathbun 1902 (Crustacea: Decapoda: Caridea: Palaemonidae) in Mar del Plata harbor, Argentina: first record from Southwestern Atlantic Waters

Abstract

Adults of the palaemonid prawn Palaemon macrodactylus Rathbun, 1902 were reported for the first time from the southwestern Atlantic waters. Males and ovigerous females were collected in Mar del Plata harbor (38 degree 03' S; 57 degree 31' W), Argentina; larvae obtained from one of the collected females were reared in the laboratory until the juvenile stage. The geographical range of P. macrodactylus was previously restricted to the Pacific Ocean: it was originally described in Japan and has been reported as an invasive species in the western coast of USA in the 1950's and in Australia in the 1970's. Recently, this prawn has been also reported from European waters.