Guillermo Guerao Serra

Pedro Torres

Pere Abelló i Sala

Guerao Serra, Guillermo

Torres, Pedro

Abelló i Sala, Pere

Hemeroteca Cientifica Catalana

39Butll. Inst. Cat. Hist. Nat., 67: 39-44. 1999 ISSN: 1133-6889GEA, FLORA ET FAUNAMorphology of the first zoea of theShamefaced Crab Calappa granulata(Brachyura, Calappidae) obtainedin the laboratoryGuillermo Guerao*, Pere Abelló** & Pedro Torres***Rebut: 27.02.98Acceptat: 02.06.99AbstractThe first zoeal stage of the calappid crab Calappagranulata is described and illustrated from labo-ratory-reared material obtained from an ovigerousfemale captured in the western Mediterranean.The morphology of this larval stage is clearlydifferent from previous descriptions from plank-ton-collected specimens attributed to this species.The present stage is compared with thosepreviously described from other species of thegenus Calappa.KEYWORDS: Crustacea, Brachyura, Calappi-dae, Calappa granulata, larval develop-ment, zoea.ResumMorfologia del primer estadi larvari del crancCalappa granulata (Brachyura, Calappidae)obtingut al laboratoriEn aquest treball es descriu el primer estadi larvaridel pessic, el cranc Calappa granulata. Les larveses varen obtenir a partir d’una femella ovígera cap-turada a la Mediterrània occidental. La morfologiade la primera zoea és clarament diferent a lad’anteriors descripcions realitzades amb exem-plars obtinguts al plàncton, i que varen ser atri-buïts a C. granulata. La primera zoea d’aquestaespècie es compara amb la d’altres espèciesdescrites del gènere Calappa.MOTS CLAU: Crustacea, Brachyura, Calappi-dae, Calappa granulata, desenvolupamentlarvari, zoea.ResumenMorfología del la primera zoea del cangrejoCalappa granulata (Brachyura, Calappidae)obtenida en el laboratorioEn el presente trabajo se describe el primer estadiolarvario del cangrejo Calappa granulata. Las larvas* Departament de Biologia Animal (Artròpodes). Facultat deBiologia. Universitat de Barcelona. Av. Diagonal 645. 08028Barcelona.** Institut de Ciències del Mar (CSIC). Passeig Joan de Borbós/n. 08039 Barcelona.*** Centro Oceanográfico de Málaga (IEO). Puerto Pesqueros/n. 29640 Fuengirola (Málaga).40se obtuvieron a partir de una hembra ovígera cap-turada en el Mediterráneo occidental. La morfolo-gía de la primera zoea es claramente diferente a lade anteriores descripciones realizadas a partir deejemplares obtenidos en el plancton, y que fueronatribuidos a C. granulata. La primera zoea de estaespecie es comparada con la de otras especies des-critas del género Calappa.PALABRAS CLAVE: Crustacea, Brachyura, Calappi-dae, Calappa granulata, desarrollo larvario,zoea.IntroductionKnowledge of the larval stages of calappidcrabs is limited and fragmentary (Rice, 1980;Stevcic, 1983). There are only a few papersconcerning the larval development of ca-lappid crabs and most of them deal only withthe zoeal or prezoeal stages (Lebour, 1944,1959; Raja Bai, 1959; Motoh, 1977; Seridji,1993; González-Gordillo, 1994; Taishaku &Konishi, 1995). Most of the authors who havetried to rear larvae of crabs of this family havefound serious difficulties in rearing them,probably related to feeding (Taishaku &Konishi, 1995).Calappa granulata (Linnaeus, 1758) is asublittoral species known from the Mediterra-nean Sea and eastern Atlantic waters fromPortugal to Mauritania, including the Azores,Madeira, and the Cape Verde Islands (Zari-quiey-Álvarez, 1968; Manning & Holthuis1981). It lives on sandy mud and muddy de-tritus at depths of between 13 and 400-700 m(Manning & Holthuis, 1981; Abelló et al.,1988; García-Raso, 1984).The prezoeal stage of Calappa granulatawas obtained in the laboratory and describedby González-Gordillo (1994). Seridgi (1993)described and illustrated a first stage zoea fromMediterranean plankton samples collectedoff the Algerian coast that was attributed tothe family Calappidae and, with some doubts,to the species C. granulata. Guerao et al.(submitted) described the megalopa and firstjuvenile stage of C. granulata obtained froma megalopa collected in a plankton sampleand subsequently reared in the laboratory.The present paper aims to describe themorphology of the first zoeal stage of Ca-lappa granulata and to compare its larval fea-tures with those known for other species ofthe genus.Material and methodsAn ovigerous female Calappa granulata,of 65.9 mm carapace width, with eggs in anearly stage of development, was collected bytrawling on muddy bottoms off Cartagena(37°30.65 N. 1°09.49 W. western Mediterra-nean) from a depth of 184-187 m on 19thMay 1997. Sampling was performed withinthe framework of the EU demersal fisheriesresearch program «MEDITS» on board theB/O «Cornide de Saavedra».The crab was placed in an aquarium (60 ×35 × 30 cm) on board the ship containingwell-aerated sea water at a salinity of approx.37.5 and kept at 17 ± 1 °C. The crab wastransported to the laboratory and kept at 15 ±1 °C. Hatching took place on 23rd June 1997.Freshly hatched Artemia nauplii were pro-vided. First zoeae were preserved in 7 %buffered formalin. A high mortality followedand no larvae reached the second zoeal stage.An Olympus phase contrast microscopewas used in the dissection and observation ofthe setal formula of the appendages. Measu-rements were taken with a Wild binocular mi-croscope equipped with a micrometer eye-piece, and are based on measurements offive individuals. All drawings were madewith the aid of a camera lucida. The followingmeasurements were taken: distance from baseto tip of dorsal spine (DS); distance betweenOFICI DE NATURALISTA41tips of dorsal and rostral spines (TT); cara-pace length, from between the eyes to thepostero-lateral margin of the carapace (CL);total width, the distance between the tips ofthe lateral spines (TW).The adult female crab of the present studywas deposited in the Biological ReferenceCollections of the Institut de Ciències del Mar(CSIC) in Barcelona (Registration Number:ICMD 086/1998).ResultsSize. (DS) 0.70-0.77 mm; (CL) 0.55 mm;(TL) 1.70-1.78 mm; (TLW) 1.03-1.10 mm.Carapace (Fig. 1 A,B,C,D). Dorsal, rostraland lateral spines well developed; dorsalspine slightly curved; rostral spine slightlycurved with 4-6 spinules on its surface (Fig.ID); lateral spines slightly curved with 4-6spinules (Fig. 1C). One minute seta betweenthe bases of the dorsal and lateral spines.Antennule (Fig. 1G). Uniramous; endopodabsent; exopod unsegmented with 3 terminalaesthetascs and 1 seta.Antenna (Fig. 1H). Exopod (less than halfthe length of the spinous process) with onelong and one short setae; spinous processwith small spinules on the surface of thedistal half.Mandible. Incisor and molar processeswell developed; mandibular palp absent.Maxillule (Fig. 2A). Coxal endite with 7setae; basal endite with 5 setae; endopod2-segmented, the distal segment with 4 termi-nal and 2 sub-terminal setae.Maxilla (Fig. 2B). Coxal endite bilobedwith 5 + 3 setae; basal endite bilobed with 4 +4 setae; endopod bilobed with 2 + 5 terminalsetae; exopod (scaphognathite) margin with 4setae and 1 distal stout process.TABLE 1. Morphological differences between the first stage zoeae of Calappa granulata, C. japonica, C. gallus,C. lophos, and C. philargius. Abbreviations: S= setae, A= aesthetascs, ND= no data.Diferències morfològiques en el primer estadi larvari de Calappa granulata, C. japonica, C. gallus, C. lophos,i C. philargius.Species C. japonica C. gallus C. lophos C. philargius C. granulata C. granulata?Reference Taishaku & Konishi Taishaku & Konishi Terada (1987) Terada (1987) Present paper Seridji (1993)(1995) (1995) Raja Bai (1959)* Motoh (1977)*Morphometrics:DS (mm) ? ? 0.466* ? 0.70-0.77 0.45TL (mm) 1.48-1.78 1.28-1.46 0.95 0.93 1.70-1.78 2.201.066* 1.20-1.30*LS (mm) 1.02-1.18 0.84-0.98 ? 0.72-0.75* 1.03-1.10 ?Antennule (A+S) 4 4 3 3? 4 ?2+1*Maxillule:endopod (S) 0, 6 0, 6 0, 6 0, 6 0, 6 1, 61, 4*basis (S) 5 5 5 5 5 56*Maxilla:coxa (S) 5+3 5+3 5+3 5+3 5+3 5+45+2*scaphognathite (S)  4 4 4 4 4 ?Maxilliped 1:endopod (S) 2, 1, 0, 2, 5 2, 1, 0, 2, 5 2, 1, 0, 2, 5 2, 1, 0, 2, 5 2, 1, 0, 2, 5 3, 2, 1, 2, 5basis (S) 2, 2, 2, 2 2, 2, 2, 2 2, 2, 2, 2 2, 2, 2, 2 2, 2, 2, 2 1, 1, 2, 3Maxilliped 2:endopod (S) 1, 1, 3 1, 1, 3 1, 1, 3 1, 1, 3 1, 1, 3 1, 1, 542A BCDEFGHFIGURE 1. Calappa granulata, first zoea. (A) lateralview; (B) frontal view; (C) dorsal spine; (D) rostralspine; (E) abdomen, dorsal view; (F) half of telson,enlarged; (G) antennule; (H) antenna. Scale for A, Band E = 0.2 mm; scale for C, D and F-H = 0.1 mm.Calappa granulata, primera zoea. (A) visió lateral; (B)visió frontal; (C) espina dorsal; (D) espina rostral; (E)abdomen, visió dorsal; (F) ampliació del telson; (G)antènula; (H) antena. Escala de A, B i E = 0,2 mm;escala de C, D i F-H = 0,1 mm.First maxilliped (Fig. 2C). Basis with 8(2,2,2,2) setae; endopod 5-segmented with2,1,0,2,4 + 1 setae, respectively; exopod in-completely 2-segmented, the distal segmentwith 4 long terminal plumose natatory setae.Second maxilliped (Fig. 2D). Basis with 4setae; endopod 3-segmented with 1,1,3 setae,respectively; exopod incipiently 2-segmented,the distal segment with 4 long terminal plumo-se natatory setae.Abdomen (Fig. 1A, E). Five somites; somi-tes 2 and 3 with 1 pair of lateral processes,those on the third somite smaller; postero-lateral processes on somites 3-5; somites 2-5with 1 pair of postero-dorsal setae; pleopodsabsent.OFICI DE NATURALISTA43ABCDFIGURE 2. Calappa granulata, first zoea. (A) Maxillule;(B) maxilla; (C) 1st maxilliped; (D) 2nd maxilliped.Scale for A = 0.05 mm; scale for B-D = 0.1 mm.Calappa granulata, primera zoea. (A) Maxil·lula; (B)maxil·la; (C) lr maxil·liped; (D) 2n maxil·liped. Esca-la d’A = 0,05 mm; escala de B-D = 0,1 mm.Telson (Fig. 1E, F). Each telson fork with awell developed dorsal and lateral spine, and avery minute and vestigial lateral spine ob-served in most of, but not all, the zoeae stud-ied; inner margin with 3 pairs of plumo-denticulate setae; posterior margin with 3 pairsof plumodenticulate setae with the setulessmaller on the distal part.DiscussionThe morphology of the first zoea of Ca-lappa granulata is very similar to that ofother species of the genus that have been de-scribed (see Table 1), but differs considerablyfrom the larva described by Seridji (1993).Thus, the zoea I described in the present pa-44per does not bear denticles or spicules on thedorsal spine or on the carapace. Also, thesecond lateral spine of the telson is vestigialand very minute in C. granulata. The presentzoeae are also smaller (TL: 1.70-1.78 mmvs. 2.20 mm). Other important differencesinvolve the setation of the appendages (Ta-ble 1), such as the basal segment of theendopod of the maxillule, which lacks theseta figured by Seridji, which is also lackingin all the rest of the first zoeae of the genusCalappa described to date. The larva descri-bed by Seridji also differs considerably inthe setation of the maxillipeds and of thecoxa of the maxilla (Table 1). All thesedifferences lead us to conclude that Seridji’slarva most probably does not belong to thegenus Calappa.AcknowledgementsWe wish to thank all the participants in thecruise MEDITS_ES-97 on board the B/O«Cornide de Saavedra», and especially Drs. L.Gil de Sola and D. Lloris, for their support.This piece of research was carried out withinthe framework of the EU research program«MEDITS» (DG XIV: MED/93/018).BibliographyABELLÓ, P.; VALLADARES, F. J. & CASTELLÓN, A.1988. Analysis of the structure of decapod crustaceanassemblages off the Catalan coast (North-WestMediterranean). Mar. Biol., 98: 39- 49.GARCÍA-RASO, E. 1984. Brachyura of the coast ofSouthern Spain (Crustacea, Decapoda). Spixiana, 7:105-113.GONZÁLEZ-GORDILLO, J. I. 1994. Descripción de losestadios de prezoea en Cycloes cristata (Brulle, 1837)y Calappa granulata (Linnaeus, 1758) (Decapoda,Brachyura, Calappidae). Boll. Inst. Esp. Oceanogr., 10(1): 33-39.LEBOUR, M. V. 1944. Larval crabs from Bermuda.Zoologica, 29: 113-128.MANNING, R. B. & HOLTHUIS, L. B. 1981. WestAfrican brachyuran crabs (Crustacea: Decapoda).Smithsonian Contr. Zool., 306: 1-379.MOTOH, H. 1977. Note: larvae of decapod crustacea ofthe Philippines. II. Laboratory-hatched first zoea ofbox crab. Philippine agriculturist, 60: 345-350.RAJA BAI, K. G. 1959. Studies on the larvaldevelopment of Brachyura III: Development ofCalappa lophos (Herbst) and Matuta lunaris Forskal(Crustacea; Brachyura). J. Zool. Soc. India, 11: 65-72.RICE, A. L. 1980. Crab zoeal morphology and its bearingon the classification of the Brachyura. Trans. Zool. Soc.London, 35: 271-424.SERIDJI, R. 1993. Descriptions of some planktoniclarvae of the Calappidae (Crustacea, Decapoda,Brachyura). J. Plankton Res., 15: 437-453.STEVCIC, Z. 1983. Revision of the Calappidae.Australian Museum Mem., 18: 165-171.TAISHAKU, H. & KONISHI, K. 1995. Zoeas of Calappaspecies with special reference to larval characters of thefamily Calappidae. Zoological Science, 12: 649-654.TERADA, M. 1987. Zoeal forms of 14 species of crabsfrom the Enshunada. Res. Crust., 16: 93-120.ZARIQUIEY-ÁLVAREZ, R. 1968. Crustáceos decápodosibéricos. Inv. Pesq., 32: 1-510.OFICI DE NATURALISTA

Morphology of the first zoea of the Shamefaced Crab Calappa granulata (Brachyura, Calappidae) obtained in the laboratory

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