A multigene and morphological analysis expands the diversity of the seabod shrimp Xiphopenaeus Smith, 1869 (Decapoda: Penaeidae), with descriptions of two new species

After being stable for nearly a century, the taxonomic history of the genus Xiphopenaeus has been marked by many changes in the last three decades. The taxonomic status of the Atlantic species has a low resolution, and many species are still undefned and grouped as cryptic species. Here we employed an integrative approach to defne the species of Xiphopenaeus and the morphological characters needed to diferentiate them. We combined the analyses of two molecular markers (COI and 16S rDNA), scanning electron microscopy and light microscopy. Based on specimens from 17 localities from the Atlantic and Pacifc oceans, we detected fve divergent genetic groups, three in the Atlantic (A1, A2, A3) and two in the Pacifc (P1, P2). Male secondary sexual characters were able to diferentiate four out of the fve genetic groups. Group A1 corresponds to X. kroyeri, and A2 and A3 correspond to new species. We redescribed the genus and two new species are described and illustrated: Xiphopenaeus dincao nov. sp. (A2) and Xiphopenaeus baueri nov. sp. (A3). Since the holotype of X. riveti was missing and the specimen analysed from group P2 was a female, the status of the species of Xiphopenaeus from the Pacifc remains unresolved