Updated checklist of semi-terrestrial and estuarine crabs (Crustacea: Decapoda: Brachyura) of Barbados, West Indies
Author
Parasram, Nadeshinie
0000-0002-5040-5781
The University of the West Indies, Cave Hill Campus, Barbados, Department of Biological and Chemical Sciences nadeshinie. parasram @ mycavehill. uwi. edu; https: // orcid. org / 0000 - 0002 - 5040 - 5781
nadeshinie.parasram@mycavehill.uwi.edu
Author
Santana, William
Laboratory of Systematic Zoology (LSZ), Universiadade Regional do Cariri (URCA), Crato, CE, Brazil.
Author
Vallès, Henri
0000-0002-7947-2742
The University of the West Indies, Cave Hill Campus, Barbados, Department of Biological and Chemical Sciences nadeshinie. parasram @ mycavehill. uwi. edu; https: // orcid. org / 0000 - 0002 - 5040 - 5781 & henri. valles @ cavehill. uwi. edu; https: // orcid. org / 0000 - 0002 - 7947 - 2742
henri.valles@cavehill.uwi.edu
text
Zootaxa
2021
2021-10-18
5052
4
451
485
journal article
3984
10.11646/zootaxa.5052.4.1
fdb742b9-cb51-4c1d-ac70-947b32ce427d
1175-5326
5577182
AAD15F62-C928-4BE4-B717-3182E6FB986E
Cardisoma guanhumi
Latreille
in Latreille, Le Peletier, Serville & Guérin, 1828
Fig. 7 A, B, C, D
Ocypoda gigantea
Fréminville, 1835:221
[type-locality: Antilles].
Cardisoma quadrata
De Saussure, 1858:438
, pl. 2, fig. 13 [type-locality:
Haiti
].
Cardisoma diurnum
Gill, 1862:42
[type-locality:
Barbados
,
Grenada
, and
Saint Thomas
].
Cardisoma guanhumi
Latreille
in Latreille, Le Peletier, Serville & Guérin, 1828: 685 [type-locality:
Brazil
;
type
in MNHN]. -Rathbun 1900: 15; 1918: 341, pls. 106 and 107, fig. 155; 1920: 18; 1921: 78; 1933: 94, fig. 89.
Chace & Hobbs 1969: 195
,
figs. 64, 67 a–c.
Keith 1985: 274
, fig.
11 F.
Melo 1996: 480
, unnumbered figure.
Coelho
et al.
2008: 38
.
Ng
et al.
2008:
212.
García & Capote 2015: 16
, figs. 7 k and
7 l.
Guinot
et al
. 2018: 565
, figs. 4 A–C, 5 D–F, 6 B.
Material examined.
Barbados
,
Long Pond
,
St. Andrew
, mudflat, 13̊ 15’40.6” N–59̊ 33’22.94” W,
2 ♂
CW: 70.6;
80.7 mm
(
BLSZ 091
)
.
Idem
,
1 ♂
CW: 97.0 mm,
1 ♀
CW: 83.0 mm (
BLSZ 111
)
.
Idem
,
1 ♂
CW:
80.7 mm
(
BLSZ 091
;
MZUSP 40856
)
.
Distribution.
Cardisoma guanhumi
is found in the Western Atlantic:
Bermuda
,
USA
(
Louisiana
, Florida),
Bahamas
, Gulf of Mexico,
Andros
Island,
Cuba
,
Jamaica
,
Haiti
,
Puerto Rico
, St. Thomas, St. John, St. Croix, Montserrat, Guadeloupe,
Dominica
, Martinique,
Barbados
,
Trinidad
, Isla La Blanquilla, Islas Los Roques,
Bonaire
,
Curaçao
,
Aruba
, Isla de la Providencia,
Colombia
, and
Brazil
(
Chace & Hobbs 1969
;
Poupin 2018
).
Distribution in
Barbados
.
Archers Bay, Green Pond, Long Pond, Lakes, Conset Bay, Graeme Hall, Brandons, Holetown Police Station, Holetown Hole, Coral Reef Club, Queen’s Fort, Weston, and Sherman’s. [
Table 1
(Site #s: 1, 2, 3, 4, 8, 12, 13, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20 & 26)].
Habitat in
Barbados
.
Mudflat of brackish water rivers and mangrove swamps (
Fig. 2B
: J).
Ecological notes.
In
Barbados
,
Cardisoma guanhumi
is mostly active at night. During the daytime, they stay hidden in their burrows. However, during periods of heavy rainfall, the crabs can be seen leaving their flooded burrows and heading towards drier areas. Occupied burrows can be identified by the presence of wet mud around their entrance.
Cardisoma guanhumi
were seen feeding on moss, fruits, leaf litter, and chicken viscera. Ovigerous females were seen in August.
Cardisoma guanhumi
is known to construct deep burrows (~
1.5–2 m
) along the periphery banks of wetlands and mangrove swamps. They are also reported in areas up to ~
5–8 km
from the sea, where the burrows extend down to the water table. This species also occurs along canals and irrigation ditches, where they dwell in shallow burrows or amongst the rocks (
Herreid & Gifford 1963
; Tavarez 2002; Arroyave-Rincón
et al
. 2014).
Remarks.
Cardisoma guanhumi
was first reported in
Barbados
by Theodore N. Gill in 1862, who described it as
Cardisoma diurnum
, a new species for
Barbados
.
Rathbun (1921)
reported
3 specimens
of
C. guanhumi
collected during the Barbados-Antigua expedition in 1918; these specimens were collected in a mangrove swamp, north of
Bridgetown
. The Smithsonian-Hartford Expedition in 1937 collected two (2) male specimens of
Cardisoma guanhumi
from Joe’s River,
Barbados
. These specimens are stored at the USNM (catalogue # 73309). Another specimen, collected by Humes A. G. and Goodingi R. U. on
July 23
rd
1959
, was also deposited at the USNM (catalogue # 104195).
Jones (1968a: 158)
reported the species
Cardisoma crassum
Smith, 1870
for
Barbados
, but this record is doubtful. His description of
C. crassum
matches that of a
C. guanhumi
specimen. Jones did not deposit the specimens of
C. crassum
to the
Barbados
Museum or at any other institution. No specimens of
C. crassum
were found by the present study.
FIGURE 7.
Habitus of
Cardisoma guanhumi
Latreille
in Latreille, Le Peletier, Serville & Guérin, 1828 (BLSZ 111). A, B, dorsal view of male and female; C, D, ventral view of male and female. Scale bar: 20 mm.
In
Barbados
,
Cardisoma guanhumi
is highly valuable for subsistence fishing and is also the main target species of “crabbing”, a large cultural event that takes place bi-annually (Roger Huston, Pers. Com.), where these crabs are harvested by the local communities for consumption. This species is extensively harvested for local and commercial consumption throughout its range in the Caribbean as well as Central and South America (
Lutz & Austin 1983
). In countries such as
Cuba
,
Puerto Rico
,
Colombia
,
Venezuela
, and
Brazil
, data on landings show that
C. guanhumi
populations have greatly declined due to over-harvesting and habitat destruction (
Rodríguez-Fourquet & Sabat 2009
;
Carmona-Suárez 2011
;
Govender 2019
). There are three different color varieties of
C. guanhumi
found in
Barbados
. These includes the grey (
Fig. 7A
), orange (
Fig. 7B
), and blue variety. Color varieties in
C. guanhumi
are a result of the effects of different combinations of pigments present in the carapace and chromatophores of the epidermis (
Gifford 1962
;
Silva
et al
. 2014
). Color patterns in
C. guanhumi
are associated with maturity and developmental stages, with orange and blue varieties reflecting the juvenile and transitional stages, respectively. The color patterns of the female adults (white, yellow and or grey) are related to ovulation (
Gifford 1962
;
Silva & Oshiro 2002
;
Tedford 2018
).