Taxonomy and geographical distribution of intertidal thalassinidean shrimps (Crustacea: Decopda) from the Qeshm Island, Persian Gulf.

The thalassinidean shrimp fauna of Iran is unknown. Specimens of the present study were collected from 11 intertidal localities of the Qeshm Island. In total, seven species belong to four families are recorded including: Upogebiidae (Upogebia carinicuda), Callianassidae (Neocallichirus indicus, Podocallichirus masoomi, Michaelcallianassa indica, Callianassa bouvieri) Gurretiidae (Gourretia coolibah) and Callianideidae (Callianidea typa). All species were new record for the Qeshm Island. The results revealed that these shrimps are dependent to special habitat types. The habitat preference of most species in the intertidal zone was either to sandy or sandy-muddy areas. But, some species were collected from the boulder dominated areas.