Procaris sp. Kensley, 1988
Taxonomic Characterization: Phyllobranchiate gills; maxillipeds and pereiopods with strong exopods; none of pereiopods chelate or subchelate; rostrum small and unarmed (Kensley, 1988).
Ecological Classification: Stygobitic
Size: Similar to other congeners where the carapace length reaches 9-10 mm
Number of Species in Genus: Four, all anchialine stygobitic
Species Range: Known only from anchialine caves on Cozumel Island, Quintana Roo, Mexico
Closest Related Species: All known species of Procaris are quite similar, showing few differentiating characters (Hart & Manning, 1986).
Habitat: Anchialine limestone caves
Ecology: Abele and Felgenhauer (1985) have studied the ecology of the Ascension species. They report that smaller individuals spend most of their time in crevices, while larger individuals are observed swimming in open water. Examination of gut contents reveals that they feed on both plant matter and crustaceans including amphipods and atyid shrimp.
Life History: Little is known of either the reproductive biology or ontogeny of Procaris (Schram, 1986). A sex ratio, determined by the presence of genital apertures, of eight females to one male has been determined for the Ascension species, P. ascensionis (Felgenhauer et al., 1988). Although more than 1,000 specimens of P. ascensionis were observed in the field, no ovigerous females were seen. A single female maintained in the laboratory bore approximately 60 bright orange eggs on the endopods of pleopods. The large size of these eggs (0.83-0.93 mm) suggests the existence of a zoeal larval stage (Felgenhauer et al., 1988).
Evolutionary Origins: Hart and Manning (1986:416) note that the similarities between species and their highly anomalous distribution in marine caves indicate an extremely slow rate of evolution. They suggest that, "Procaris, or its predecessors, may, at one time, have been widely distributed throughout the oceans, surviving today only in cryptic habitats removed from some of the environmental pressures necessitating change."
Conservation Status: Known only from anchialine caves on Cozumel Island.
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