Description of the first zoea of <i>Litoraxius boshu</i> Komai & Tachikawa, 2007 (Crustacea, Decapoda, Axiidea)

An ovigerous female of a rare axiid shrimp, Litoraxius boshu Komai & Tachikawa, 2007, was collected from the intertidal zone of Katsuyama, southern Boso Peninsula, Japan. This study described the first zoeal stage of laboratory-hatched L. boshu in detail. Larval morphological characteristics were compared with other axiid shrimps, larvae of which have been studied. The first zoea of L. boshu is distinguished from those of other axiid shrimps by a combination of the characters of posterodorsal spines on the pleonites, the antennal scaphocerite, the endopod of the maxillule, the endopod of the third maxilliped, and ornamentation of the posterior margin of the telson.