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LEUCOTHOIDAE (CRUSTACEA: AMPHIPODA) OF BOCAS DEL TORO, PANAMA**

Abstract

Amphipod crustaceans are ecologically important in marine habitats worldwide. They are an important food source and play valuable roles in nutrient cycling. Amphipods belonging to parvorder Amphilochidira comprise greater than 1135 species in 24 families worldwide. Some live among algae or in close proximity to sessile invertebrate hosts. Amphipods of the family Leucothoidae are known to be endocommensals in sponges, which help to provide nutrition, protection, and reproductive spaces. They play an important role in various food webs, as a food source and acting as deposit or suspension feeders or even predators. Many amphipods act as intermediate hosts for parasites, and they may later target a definitive host that is a species of economic importance. Despite these important roles, the diversity of amphipods is poorly documented, prompting this biodiversity study in Bocas del Toro, Panama, where only 11 species of Amphilochidira have been documented.Amphipods were collected via snorkeling and SCUBA in 2005, 2021, and 2023. Various substrates, such as coral rubble, sponges, and ascidians were collected, and amphipods were removed from the substrates to reveal 20 species in the parvorder. Amphipods belonging to the family Leucothoidae are described and comparisons are made to reports of species from other Caribbean locations.

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