Larval development of Latreutes laminirostris (Decapoda: Hippolytidae) reared in the laboratory

The larval development of Latreutes laminirostris from hatching to postlarval stage was studied to understand the larval stages and their duration, and larval morphology. Nine zoeal stages and the postlarva are described and figured. The first zoeal stage of Latreutes fucorum described by Gurney (1936) can be distinguished from that of L. laminirostris in terms of rostrum length, presence or absence of a posterior dorsomedian papilla on the carapace, and a dorsomedian protuberance on the third abdominal somite. The fourth zoea of Latreutes mucronatus described by Gurney (1937) is comparable to the sixth zoea of L. laminirostris. Thus, it is postulated that the larva described by Gurney (1937) was probably in stage VI rather than stage IV. The morphological characters of the genus Latreutes are summarized.