Galathea rostrata 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 : 389

Galathea rostrata A. Milne-Edwards, 1880

Galathea rostrata has been reported throughout the Caribbean and Gulf of Mexico to North Carolina in depths of 22 to 92 m ( Milne-Edwards 1880; Milne-Edwards & Bouvier 1897; Haig 1956; Baba et al. 2008). The specimens used in this analysis were from the Gulf of Mexico and off the coast of Florida in depths of 30 to 100 m ( Fig. 5 ). Specimens were collected in every month except December ( Fig. 6 ). A total of 274 specimens was in collections with 145 males, 65 ovigerous females, and 64 non-ovigerous females; only 104 males, 42 ovigerous, and 41 non-ovigerous females were measured. Male carapace width ranged from 1.3 to 5.8 mm. Non-ovigerous female CW ranged from 1.3 to 4.8 mm. Ovigerous female CW ranged from 1.9 to 5.4 mm. The average egg diameter for each female ranged from 0.22 to 0.48 mm, and the number of eggs ranged from one to 204. Males and females did not vary significantly in size (t-test, df = 185, t = 0.825, p = 0.411), but ovigerous females were larger than non-ovigerous females (t-test, df = 81, t = -2.382, p = 0.020). Fecundity was not significantly correlated with the size of the ovigerous females (R2 = 0.264, p = 0.082) nor was the average egg diameter correlated with size (R2 = 0.130, p = 0.092).

Figures

FIGURE 5. Distribution of Galathea rostrata A. Milne-Edwards, 1880 used in analysis. Each circle is a collection location.

FIGURE 6. Number of specimens of G. rostrata A. Milne-Edwards, 1880 collected for each month. Gray bars are males, white bars are females, and black bars are ovigerous females.