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New record and biological features of the commensal porcellanid crab Polyonyx gibbesi (Crustacea: Anomura) from the north-eastern Brazilian coast

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  27 April 2012

Gustavo Luis Hirose
Gustavo Luis Hirose*
Affiliation:
Laboratório de Carcinologia, Departamento de Biologia, Universidade Federal de Sergipe, São Cristóvão, Sergipe, Brazil
*
Correspondence should be addressed to: G.L. Hirose, Departamento de Biologia, Universidade Federal de Sergipe, Avenida Marechall Rondon s/n, Bairro Rosa Elze, CEP: 49100 000, São Cristóvão, Sergipe, Brazil email: gustavo_lh@hotmail.com
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Abstract

Polyonyx gibbesi—commonly known as the porcelain crab—lives commensally with an annelid that builds U-shaped tubes in shallow waters along the Atlantic coast. Polyonyx gibbesi is considered to have a mostly anti-tropical distribution, since it has been found only sporadically in tropical waters (e.g. the Caribbean). A total of 27 tubes of the polychaete host were collected from the estuarine mudflat of the Vaza-Barris River, State of Sergipe, Brazil; 23 of these tubes were inhabited by at least one individual of P. gibbesi. In the hosts examined, 42 crabs were found (21 males and 21 females). A total of four hosts harboured a single commensal crab. In all cases in which more than one crab was found per host, they were a male and female pair. A total of five females were recorded carrying eggs (1171.6 ± 534.5). The frequency of P. gibbesi in the host was high (about 85%), suggesting that the occurrence of this porcelain crab was not accidental or sporadic at the study site. The presence of ovigerous females in the population further indicates the existence of mature and sexually active individuals, which are effectively reproducing. The expansion of the known distribution of P. gibbesi to the State of Sergipe in Brazil challenges the current idea of an anti-tropical distribution for P. gibbesi. Most probably, the current status of knowledge about this species' distribution is the result of its commensal lifestyle, which makes it difficult to collect, and also the paucity of investigations along the north-eastern Brazilian coast.

Keywords

PolychaeteChaetopterussymbiosis
Type
Research Article
Information
Marine Biodiversity Records , Volume 5 , August 2012 , e43
Copyright
Copyright © Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom 2012

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