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Abstract Across plants and animals, genome size is often correlated with life‐history traits: large genomes are correlated with larger seeds, slower development, larger body size and slower cell division. Among decapod crustaceans, caridean shrimps are among the most variable both in terms of genome size variation and life‐history characteristics such as larval development mode and egg size, but the extent to which these traits are associated in a phylogenetic context is largely unknown. In this study, we examine correlations among egg size, larval development and genome size in two different genera of snapping shrimp,AlpheusandSynalpheus, using phylogenetically informed analyses. In bothAlpheusandSynalpheus, egg size is strongly linked to larval development mode: species with abbreviated development had significantly larger eggs than species with extended larval development. We produced the first comprehensive dataset of genome size inAlpheus(n = 37 species) and demonstrated that genome size was strongly and positively correlated with egg size in bothAlpheusandSynalpheus. Correlated trait evolution analyses showed that inAlpheus, changes in genome size were clearly dependent on egg size. InSynalpheus, evolutionary path analyses suggest that changes in development mode (from extended to abbreviated) drove increases in egg volume; larger eggs, in turn, resulted in larger genomes. These data suggest that variation in reproductive traits may underpin the high degree of variation in genome size seen in a wide variety of caridean shrimp groups more generally.