Alpheus edwardsii (Audouin, 1826) (Fig. 3 A–B) Athanas edwardsii Audouin, 1826: 91. Alpheus edwardsii —Banner & Banner, 1973: 1141; Banner & Banner, 1978: 222; Banner & Banner, 1982: 270; Banner & Banner, 1985: 16; Chace, 988: 25. Naderloo & Türkay, 2012: 9; Anker & De Grave, 2016: 352. Material examined. PG: 1 male, 3 females (ZUTC 6730), Bandar-Mahshar, under rock in turbid water, Coll. A. Dehghani, 26 Nov. 2015; 2 males, 1 female (ZUTC 6731), Arvand-Kenar, under rock in turbid water, Coll. A. Dehghani, 25 Nov. 2015; Bushehr, 2 males, 1 ovig. female (ZUTC 6732), Bandar-Deylam, under rock, Coll. R. Naderloo, 28 Oct. 2014; 2 males, 3 females (ZUTC 6733), Bandar-Genaveh, under rocks and from burrows, Coll. A. Sari and H. Salehi, 28 Nov. 2012; 1 male (ZUTC 6734), Bandar-Dayyer, under rocks and from burrows, Coll. R. Naderloo, 1 Oct. 2012; 3 males, 2 ovig. females (ZUTC 6735), Bandar-Lengeh, under rock, Coll. A. Dehghani and H. Ashrafi, 2 May 2015; 2 males, 3 females (ZUTC 6736), Hormuz I., under rocks and from burrows, Coll. A. Sari, 2 Dec. 2014; 1 male, (ZUTC 6737) Abu-Musa I., large boulder or its inside holes and channels, Coll. A. Dehghani, 10 May 2016; 1 male, 1 female (SMF 51379), Hormuz I., under rocks and from burrows, Coll. A. Sari, 2 Dec. 2014; GO: 2 males, 2 ovig. females (ZUTC 6738), Abd Village, in crevices of dead corals, Coll. A. Dehghani and H. Ashrafi, 2 May 2016; 1 male, 2 females (ZUTC 6739) Khalasi Estuary, mangroves, muddy/boulder, Coll. A. Sari, 2 males, 2 Dec. 2013; 1 female (ZUTC 6740) Chabahar Bay, Tis, rocky/cobble, Coll. A. Dehghani, 2 May 2016; 1 male, 3 females (ZUTC 6741), Tang Village, sandy, Coll. S. Ebrahimnezhad, 25 Nov. 2015; 1 male, 2 females (ZUTC 6742), Djod Village, rocky/cobble, Coll. A. Dehghani and H. Ashrafi, 25 May 2017. Regional records. PG: UAE (Nobili 1906, as Alpheus audouini Coutière), Iran (Naderloo & Türkay 2012); GO: Iran (Naderloo et al. 2015) Distribution. Indo-West Pacific: from South Africa and Red Sea to Japan and Australia. Habitat. Rocky/sandy intertidal, under rocks and large pieces of coral rubble; intertidal and shallow subtidal, 0–3 m deep. Remark. This species complex is very common in the GO, especially in rocky-sandy habitats. Morphologically, our material agrees well with Banner & Banner’s (1982) description. The variation in color patterns in PG and GO material caused a problematic status for this species complex. According to Anker & De Grave (2016), Alpheus edwardsii is a challenging group comprised of several species and therefore needs a thorough examination of morphologically similar material from its geographical range.

Published as part of Dehghani, Amir, Sari, Alireza & Naderloo, Reza, 2019, Annotated checklist of the snapping shrimps of the genus Alpheus Fabricius, 1798 (Crustacea: Decapoda: Alpheidae) from the Persian Gulf and Gulf of Oman, Iran, pp. 479-504 in Zootaxa 4544 (4) on pages 484-485, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4544.4.2, http://zenodo.org/record/2618475