Search

Decapod community inhabiting the rocky littoral of eight bays from Socorro island, Revillagigedo Archipelago, was studied during March 1992. Samples were collected from one-square meter plots placed following transects drawn perpendicularly to the shoreline along the intertidal zone. Species richness and abundance were determined in each bay, as well as the similarity between bays using Morisita's index. Organisms collected belong to six families, 20 genera and 26 species of the Brachyura and Anomura infraorders. Xanthidae was the family with the highest number of species, and the highest species richness was recorded at the V. Lozano bay. Pachygrapsus transversus, Xanthodius cooksoni and Calcinus explorator were the most abundant species in nearly all localities. Dendrogram obtained define two groups of bays at a similarity level above 0.67, given the similarity in the crab's species richness and their abundance between bays in the island.

The phylogenetic relationships among the southern African freshwater crab species were examined using partial sequence data from three mitochondrial genes (12S rRNA, 16S rRNA, and mtDNA COI) 26 morphological characters and 14 allozyme loci. The aims of the present study were firstly to determine whether freshwater crab species that live in the same geographic region share a close phylogenetic relationship. Secondly, to investigate whether hybridizing species are genetically closely related and thirdly, to test for the validity of subgenera based on the genetic data sets. Phylogenetic analysis based on sequence data revealed largely congruent tree topologies and some associations had consistently high bootstrap support, and these data did not support Bott's subgeneric divisions. The morphological data were less informative for phylogenetic reconstruction while the allozyme data generally supported patterns recovered by the sequence data. A combined analysis of all the data recovered two monophyletic clades, one comprised of small-bodied mountain stream species and the other clade consisting of large-bodied riverine species. The combined analyses reflected clear biogeographic patterning for these river crabs. In addition, there was a clear correlation between genetic distance values and the ability of sympatric species to hybridize.

A new genus and species of a brachyuran crab, Allograea tomentosa n. gen. and n. sp., of the family Bythograeidae, collected at a hydrothermal vent locality south of the Easter Microplate (31 degrees 09'S) on the southern East Pacific Rise, is described. The genus Allograea is distinguished by lacking modifications of the fronto-orbital region, and by the absence of coloured fields and setal patches on the carapace and chelipeds. The body and legs are smooth but densely covered by a brown tomentum, the eyestalks are not reduced, but the cornea is unfaceted and unpigmented. Comparison of mitochondrial DNA sequences among all known bythograeid genera confirms the novelty of this taxon.

Behavioral responses of the fiddler crab Uca cumulanta to flat geometric shapes mimicking natural objects were measured in a circular arena by using zonal recovery as a behavioral measurement. Crabs were tested either in presence or absence of odors from two common predator species, the blue crab Callinectes sapidus, and the pufferfish Sphoeroides testudineus. The study tested the hypothesis that U. cumulanta have different behavioral responses to visual cues in the presence of chemical cues associated with predators. Escape direction tests demonstrated that U. cumulanta is able to show zonal recovery behavior based upon astronomical references. When tested in water lacking predator odor, crabs failed to exhibit a consistent orientation if a single silhouette target was interposed in the landward direction. However, when animals were tested in different predator odor concentrations, an orientation response was obtained at 10 and 20 g/liter/hr blue crab odorand 10 g/liter/hr pufferfish odor, demonstrating U. cumulanta ability to detect the potential presence of its natural predators by this odor. Thus, the hypothesis was supported, and the results suggest that behavioral responses to chemical and visual cues are involved in predator avoidance.

The repeated appearance of strikingly similar crab-like forms in independent decapod crustacean lineages represents a remarkable case of parallel evolution. Uncertainty surrounding the phylogenetic relationships among crab-like lineages has hampered evolutionary studies. As is often the case, aligned DNA sequences by themselves were unable to fully resolve these relationships. Four nested mitochondrial gene rearrangements--including one of the few reported movements of an arthropod protein-coding gene--are congruent with the DNA phylogeny and help to resolve a crucial node. A phylogenetic analysis of DNA sequences, and gene rearrangements, supported five independent origins of the crab-like form, and suggests that the evolution of the crab-like form may be irreversible. This result supports the utility of mitochondrial gene rearrangements in phylogenetic reconstruction.

Seven species (eight populations) of sentinel crabs (genus Macrophthalmus) from the Japan coast and Uca vocans and Ocypode ceratophthalma, were examined electrophoretically for genetic variations in 13 enzymatic and one non-enzymatic protein comprising 17 loci. Most species were highly differentiated from each other (Nei's genetic distance, 0.29-1.63). The least genetic distance was found between M. japonicus and M. banzai, the genetic distinctiveness of the two taxa being supported by three divergent loci with no common allele. The genetic relationships among Macrophthalmus species differed greatly from those inferred from morphological features, with a UPGMA tree suggesting that the sub-genus Macrophthalmus is polyphyletic.

Porcelain crabs, genera Petrolisthes and Pachycheles, are diverse and abundant members of the eastern Pacific near-shore decapod crustacean community. Morphology-based taxonomic analyses of these crabs have determined groupings of affiliated species, but phylogenetic relationships remain unknown. We used sequence data from the mitochondrial 16S rRNA gene of 46 species of eastern Pacific porcelain crabs to perform phylogenetic analyses by distance and parsimony methods. Our results are used to compare the taxonomic significance of morphological and molecular characters, to examine sequence divergence rates of crab 16S rRNA genes, and to analyze the phylogeographic history of these crabs. Our phylogenetic trees indicate that the genus Petrolisthes is divided into two main clades, reflecting morphological features. One clade contains primarily tropical species, and the other contains species from throughout the eastern Pacific, as well as species in the genera Allopetrolisthes and Liopetrolisthes. Phylogenetic trees of Pachycheles suggest an antitropical distribution; north and south temperate species form one clade and tropical species form a second clade. Sequence divergence rates of the 16S rRNA gene from three pairs of geminate species can be used to date divergence times, and we discuss porcelain crab phylogeographic patterns in relation to paleogeographic events., (Copyright 2001 Academic Press.)

The authors point out for the first time, fixation of the Cirriped Conchoderma virgatum (Spengler, 1790) on an Amphipod Cyamid parasite of a young sperm-whale, Physeter catodon Linnaeus, 1758, stranded on the gulf of Lion coast (Western Mediterranean). Using the scanning electron microscope, they furnish precisions on the morphology and they furnish some observations concerning reproduction and biogeography of this Amphipod, Neocyamus physeteris (Pouchet, 1888).

Grapsoid crabs are best known from the marine intertidal and supratidal. However, some species also inhabit shallow subtidal and freshwater habitats. In the tropics and subtropics, their distribution even includes mountain streams and tree tops. At present, the Grapsoidea consists of the families Grapsidae, Gecarcinidae, and Mictyridae, the first being subdivided into four subfamilies (Grapsinae, Plagusiinae, Sesarminae, and Varuninae). To help resolve phylogenetic relationships among these highly adaptive crabs, portions of the mitochondrial genome corresponding to the 16S rRNA gene were sequenced for all grapsoid genera occurring in America. The resulting phylogeny confirms most of the present grapsid subfamilies but suggests reclassification of some of the genera and recognition of new taxonomic units. The two American gecarcinid genera might not represent a sister group to the Grapsidae but rather appear to have evolved within the latter. Colonization of inland habitats evolved in several lineages of the grapsoids, resulting in various forms of nonmarine life and different degrees of independence from the sea., (Copyright 2000 Academic Press.)

We used morphological, mitochondrial DNA sequence, paleontological, and biogeographical information to examine the evolutionary history of crabs of the genus Cancer. Phylogenies inferred from adult morphology and DNA sequence of the cytochrome oxidase I (COI) gene were each well resolved and well supported, but differed substantially in topology. Four lines of evidence suggested that the COI data set accurately reflected Cancer phylogeny: (1) in the phylogeny inferred from morphological data, each Atlantic species was sister taxon to an ecologically similar Pacific species, suggesting convergence in morphology; (2) a single trans-Arctic dispersal event, as indicated by the phylogeny inferred from COI, is more parsimonious than two such dispersal events, as inferred from morphology; (3) test and application of a maximum likelihood molecular clock to the COI data yielded estimates of origin and speciation times that fit well with the fossil record; and (4) the tree inferred from the combined COI and morphology data was closely similar to the trees inferred from COI, although notably less well supported by the bootstrap. The phylogeny inferred from maximum likelihood analysis of COI suggested that Cancer originated in the North Pacific in the early Miocene, that the Atlantic species arose from a North Pacific ancestor, and that Cancer crabs invaded the Atlantic from the North Pacific 6-12 mya. This inferred invasion time is notably prior to most estimates of the date of submergence of the Bering Strait and the trans-Arctic interchange, but it agrees with fossil evidence placing at least one Cancer species in the Atlantic about 8 mya., (Copyright 1999 Academic Press.)

Among crabs of the family Ocypodidae, Ilyoplax has been known to exhibit unique mud-using territorial behavior against neighbors, including neighbor burrow plugging, barricade building, and fence building. To assess the evolution of current behavioral forms observed in Ilyoplax, 1,416-bp nucleotide sequences from the mitochondrial 12S rRNA to 16S rRNA genes of 20 species, representing four recognized subfamilies of Ocypodidae, were analyzed. The resultant phylogenetic tree revealed the subfamily Dotillinae, including Ilyoplax, to be monophyletic, with a sister group relationship with subfamily Camptandriinae. These two subfamilies were branched after Ocypodinae, with Macrophthalminae being most basal. Species of Ilyoplax fell into three different Dotillinae lineages, indicating the genus to be polyphyletic. Crabs in two of the three lineages showed differential geographic distribution and body size. Phylogenetic analyses of behavioral characters demonstrated that mud-using techniques had evolved multiple times and sequentially. From their behavioral similarity and evolutionary occurrence, fence building is hypothesized to have evolved from barricade building, and the latter, from burrow plugging. This scenario also appeared reasonable with respect to behavioral trends observed in the field. The evolution of such territorial behavior is considered to be associated with ecological conditions such as burrow fidelity and substrate condition.

Among arthropods, Cirripedia (barnacles) are remarkable in that they completely lack abdominal segments. This feature prompted us to study the Hox genes of three cirripede species, representing a wide array of the diversity of these organisms, a segmented sessile barnacle, Elminius modestus (Thoracica), the parasite of a crab, Sacculina carcini (Rhizocephala), and the burrowing barnacle Trypetesa lampas (Acrothoracica). Using PCR amplification of genomic DNA and cDNA and library probing, we have found seven clear cirripedian homologues of the eight homeotic Hox genes known in insects, including labial and proboscipedia homologues, that were not previously reported in crustaceans. In addition we have isolated a divergent Antp-like gene, named Diva, that we homologize to the ftz gene of insects. The homeotic gene abdominalA (abdA) was not retrieved from any of these three cirripede species. By contrast, we have found all eight homeotic homologue genes, including abdA, in Ulophysema oeresundense, a crustacean possessing a well-developed abdomen, belonging to the Ascothoracica, generally thought to be the sister group of Cirripedia. Since we have found in barnacles homeobox-containing genes that are more divergent from the Antennapedia type than the typical abdA, we believe that a bona fide abdA gene would not have escaped our search. Hence, the abdA gene has been lost or is profoundly derived in sequence during the evolution leading to the cirripedian lineage. If confirmed, the lack of abdA would represent the first case in which the loss of a homeotic gene is correlated with a change in body plan during the evolution of metazoans., (Copyright 1998 Academic Press.)

Runneling, a type of habitat modification using shallow channels, is an effective method for controlling mosquitoes that breed in intertidal salt marshes. Grapsid crab populations were studied to assess the environmental effects of runneling on nontarget species. Pitfall traps provided a means of monitoring crab distribution and relative abundance at Coomera Island in southeastern Queensland. The study indicated that although runneling does not have a significant effect on the total number of crabs, it may have a significant impact on species distribution. Significantly greater numbers of Parasesarma erythrodactyla were found at the runneled site. In contrast, Helograpsus haswellianus was more abundant at the unrunneled control site. Associations were also found between species abundance, distance from the tidal inlet, and vegetation type. Helograpsus haswellianus was associated with mixed vegetation, whereas Parasesarma erythrodactyla was associated with tall, dense salt marsh couch. No correlation was found between the number of crab burrows present at the study site and the number of crabs caught in the traps. However, the runneled site had approximately twice the number of crab burrows of the unrunneled control site. These results were consistent for 3 consecutive monthly sampling periods. The method has proven suitable for further studies on the long-term environmental impact of runneling.

Coastal marine ecosystems world-wide are threatened by invasions of nonindigenous species. The ubiquity of marine sibling species identifiable only by genetic analysis suggests that many invasions are cryptic and therefore undetected, causing an underestimation of the actual number and impacts of invading species. We test this hypothesis with European crabs in the genus Carcinus that have invaded five regions globally. Partial 16S ribosomal RNA gene sequences confirm sibling species status of morphologically similar Atlantic C. maenas and Mediterranean C. aestuarii. Based on 16S rRNA haplotypes, crabs from California, New England and Tasmania were all C. maenas. However, we report the cryptic multiple invasion of both species in Japan and South Africa, where only C. aestuarii and C. maenas, respectively, were previously recognized.

A new species of carcineretid crab, Carcineretes planetarius, is described from the Upper Cretaceous (lower Maastrichtian) Barton Creek Dolomite at Albion Island, Belize. The age is based on the stratigraphic range of associated nerineid gastropods and correlation with nannoplankton, benthic foraminifera, and the other known congeneric species of crab found in Jamaica. Confirmation of this age aids in constraining the timing of ejecta deposits of the Chicxulub impact found at the top of Barton Creek Dolomite exposed on Albion Island. Paleoenvironmental and paleoecological analyses suggest that these crabs were swimmers in lagoonal settings, capable of burrowing a few centimeters into the mud for protection.

Through an investigation of the freshwater crabs in 39 counties of Hunan province, 20 species of fresh water crabs were found as the intermediate hosts of Paragonimus. They belong to three genus and two families, in which 10 are new species (including 4 new subspecies). Besides, the natural infection with lung fluke metacercariae was also observed in some of the fresh water crabs.

Potamonautes loveni (Colosi) is the valid name for the species also described as P. granviki, P. harvardi and P. loveni longimerus, and incorrectly identified as P. berardi berardi. Potamonautes jeanelli and P. idjwiensis may be allied to P. loveni, but are geographically separated and show sufficient morphological distinction not to be considered conspecific. Potamonautes loveni occurs in the upper reaches of rivers on the highlands of western Kenya and eastern Uganda. Its replacement by other species, principally P. niloticus, at lower altitudes is probably determined by the temperature range of the water. Potamonautes loveni has been observed to coexist with P. niloticus within the range of altitude 1280-1950 m. Distinct forms of P. loveni, differing in colour, size and the expression of the post-frontal crest, occur on the western side of Mt. Elgon and in the former ochocerciasis foci of Kenya. Hybridization is evident in populations from between these areas. Morphological divergence within P. loveni may be the result of past climatic change. Periods of generally lower temperature have been accompanied by increased aridity and reduction of forest cover. It is suggested that these conditions are such as to promote a disjunct distribution of P. loveni, and in particular the isolation of the Mt. Elgon population.

Thin layer polyacrylamide gel isoelectric focusing (TLIEF) is described for characterizing the species-specific, heat-denatured proteins of 8 species of crab: red (Geryon quinquedens), rock (Cancer irroratus), Jonah (Cancer borealis), blue (Callinectes sapidus), king (Paralithodes camtschatica), snow (Chionoectes spp.), European edible (Cancer pagurus), and dungeness (Cancer magister). Protein pattern differences are shown not only among species, but also between 2 modes of heat processing of the crabmeat. Individual variation within the species as to sex, size and maturity, length of frozen storage, and body parts chosen for sampling do not alter the species banding pattern. The reproducible species-specific fingerprint obviates the need to analyze authenticated samples simultaneously with the unknown crabmeat.