Larvas de Crustáceos Decápodos (Crustacea: Decapoda)

The decapod crustacean larvae are important components of the marine meroplankton. They are abundant mainly during spring, season in which the majority of species are in reproduction. The larval life is variable in terms of time. They can remain as a larva through several weeks, as it happens with the species that belong to the infraorders Anomura and Brachyura, or they can spend several months as it occurs with some species of the infraorder Palinura. Consequently, the number of larval stages can also be variable, and it can change according to the different species. These larvae are abundant on the continental shelf, associated to shallow waters. They are distributed mainly in epipelagic waters and their major concentrations are found in the upper 50 m of the water column. A checklist of references on crustacean decapod larvae from Chile is presented, actualized to the period going from the year 1915 to 2009. These references deal with systematics, taxonomic description and distribution of decapod larvae recorded from the Southeastern Pacific Ocean. The index includes references on larvae of species from the following areas: coastal waters of Chile, Juan Fernández archipelago, Easter Island, Islas Desventuradas San Félix and San Ambrosio and Isla Salas y Gómez. Some classic papers very useful for the identification and classification of the larvae belonging to the Chilean species, plus several papers dealing with other species from the same genera of those living in Chilean waters have also been included.