Munidopsis robusta ( A. Milne-Edwards, 1880 )

Kilgour, Morgan J. & Shirley, Thomas C., 2014, Reproductive biology of galatheoid and chirostyloid (Crustacea: Decapoda) squat lobsters from the Gulf of Mexico, Zootaxa 3754 (4), pp. 381-419 : 409

Munidopsis robusta ( A. Milne-Edwards, 1880)

Munidopsis robusta has also been reported as Galathodes robusta and has a distributional range from the Gulf of Mexico to French Guiana in depths of 291 to 824 m ( Milne-Edwards 1880; Pequegnat & Pequegnat 1970; Takeda 1983). Specimens in this analysis were from the Caribbean and the Gulf of Mexico in depths of 79 to 960 m. Specimens were collected in every month except January; ovigerous specimens were collected in every month except January ( Fig. 13 F). Eighty-seven males (CW from 3.9 to 14.8 mm), 43 non-ovigerous females (CW from 5.6 to 15.7 mm), and 55 ovigerous females were measured (CW from 11.2 to 17.3 mm). Females were not significantly larger than males (t-test, df = 183, t = 1.804, p = 0.073); ovigerous females were significantly larger than non-ovigerous females (t-test, df = 96, t = 7.868, p<0.001). Females had between nine and 371 eggs with average egg diameter for each female ranging from 0.96 to 1.7 mm. Fecundity was correlated with CW for M. robusta (R2 = 0.209, p = 0.014) ( Fig. 10 F), but average egg size was not correlated with CW (R2 = 0.0577, p = 0.218).

Figures

FIGURE 10. Linear regression of carapace width and the number of eggs for Munida valida Smith, 1883 (A), Galacantha spinosa A. Milne-Edwards, 1880 (B), Munidopsis erinacea (A. Milne-Edwards, 1880) (C), Munidopsis longimanus (A. Milne- Edwards, 1880) (D), Munidopsis riveroi Chace, 1939 (E) and Munidopsis robusta (A. Milne-Edwards, 1880) (F). Black dashed lines are the 95 % confidence interval. Dotted lines are 95 % prediction intervals.

FIGURE 13. Number of specimens of each species collected for each month. Gray bars are males, white bars are females, and black bars are ovigerous females.