Ultrastructural Changes in the Cuticle of Palaemon serrifer (Palaemonidae, Crustacea) during the Intermolt Cycle

Ultrastructural changes in the cuticle of Paleamon serrifer associated with the intermolt cycle were examined and quantified as changes in the cuticular thickness. The cuticular thickness in each zoea stage increased with time elapsed after molting. The cuticle in the premolt stage was about 1.5 and 3 times thicker than that in the postmolt and intermolt stage, respectively. The cuticle in the premolt stage, including the molting space, was more than 5 times as thick as in the postmolt stage. In addition, newly hatched larvae were individually reared in the laboratory and body length for each specimen was measured frequently until the end of zoea VI. An average increase in body length between one zoea stage and the next is about $10\%$ of the length of the previous stage. Within individual zoea stages, the premolt stage had a body length some 0.3% longer than that of the postmolt stage, indicating a growth rate of about 0.03 mm/d.