Reproductive biology of galatheoid and chirostyloid (Crustacea: Decapoda) squat lobsters from the Gulf of Mexico
Author
Kilgour, Morgan J.
Author
Shirley, Thomas C.
text
Zootaxa
2014
3754
4
381
419
journal article
46649
10.11646/zootaxa.3754.4.3
96aabdb2-1be6-484b-a6aa-34d046a24d01
1175-5326
229435
D6C44F9E-6EF7-411B-8C49-132AA77AB1A5
Munida pusilla
Benedict, 1902
Munida pusilla
has been reported from
Brazil
to the Gulf of
Mexico
in depths of
7 to 168 m
(
Benedict 1902
;
Markham
et al.
1990
; de
Melo-Filho 2006
). This species is easily confused with
M. angulata
(
Baba
et al.
2008
)
and such may be the case with some of these specimens. We used specimens collected in the Gulf of
Mexico
and Caribbean in depths of
12 to
200 m
. Specimens were collected in all months; ovigerous specimens were not collected in December (
Fig. 9
E). One hundred eighty-six males (CW from
1.6 to 8.5 mm
), 64 non-ovigerous females (CW from 2.0 to
8.3 mm
), and
86 females
were measured (CW from
2.1 to 7.4 mm
); males and females were not significantly different in CW (t-test, df
=
336, t
=
0.0455, p
=
0.964) nor did ovigerous females and nonovigerous females differ in size (t-test, df
=
148, t
=
-0.893, p
=
0.373). Females had between four and
772 eggs
with average egg diameters range of
0.19 to 0.55 mm
. Fecundity was significantly correlated with CW (R2
=
0.513, p <0.001) (
Fig. 4
F), and the average egg diameter was correlated with the CW (R2
=
0.183, p value<0.001).