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
Munidopsis sigsbei
(
A. Milne-Edwards, 1880
)
Munidopsis sigsbei
has previously been reported as
Galathodes sigsbei
and
Munidopsis sigsbeyi
(
Baba
et al.
2008
)
. Its reported distributional range is from the Gulf of
Mexico
to
Brazil
in depths of
659 to 1784 m
(Milne-
Edwards 1880
;
Chace 1942
;
Pequegnat & Pequegnat 1970
;
Tavares & Campinho 1998
). Specimens used in this analysis were in the published distributional range in depths of
500 to 2000 m
and were collected in every month (
Fig. 13
G). One hundred fifty-nine males (CW from
2.5 to 13.1 mm
), 68 non-ovigerous females (CW from 3.8 to 12.0 mm), and 83 ovigerous females (CW from
6.3 to 13.3 mm
) were measured. Males and females were not significantly different in size (t-test, df
=
308, t
=
-1.804, p
=
0.072); ovigerous females were significantly larger than non-ovigerous females (t-test, df
=
149, t
=
-4.061, p<0.001). Ovigerous females were observed in February and May through November. Females had between one and
50 eggs
, and average egg diameters ranged between
1.14 mm
and
2.09 mm
. Fecundity was correlated with CW for
M. sigsbei
(R2
=
0.287, p <0.001) (
Fig. 14
A), but average egg size was not correlated with CW (R2
=
0.002, p
=
0.702).