The Atlantic seabob shrimp Xiphopenaeus kroyeri (Heller, 1862) is a commercially important penaeid shrimp occurring in the coastal waters of the tropical Western Atlantic. In 2011, the Surinamese industrial fishery on this species was awarded the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) certification for its efforts in improving sustainability. Nevertheless, important knowledge on the phylogenetics and population structure of the seabob shrimp on the northern coast of South America is still lacking. Applying a Bayesian multilocus coalescent method with two mitochondrial and two nuclear genes, additional proof was provided for the existence of two and potentially even three cryptic species of seabob shrimp occurring sympatric in the area, with one species (Xiphopenaeus kroyeri sensu stricto) being largely dominant. Moreover, the genetic population structuring of the latter species was investigated using two mitochondrial markers. These results documented a single continuous stock extending from Guyana to Pará State, Brazil, whereby the Orinoco and Amazon freshwater outflows act as barriers limiting gene flow to neighbouring populations. As there are no two separate stocks in Surinamese and Guyanese waters, the outcome of this study requests to further improve the sustainable management of the Atlantic seabob shrimp fishery.
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