Callinectes danae Smith, 1869

Parasram, Nadeshinie, Santana, William & Vallès, Henri, 2021, Updated checklist of semi-terrestrial and estuarine crabs (Crustacea: Decapoda: Brachyura) of Barbados, West Indies, Zootaxa 5052 (4), pp. 451-485 : 461

Callinectes danae Smith, 1869

Fig. 5 A, B

Callinectes diacanthus Latrielle, 1825: 190 .— Ordway, 1863: 575 [not C. diacanthus Latrielle 1825 ]. A. Milne-Edwards, 1879, p. 226 [var. of C. diacanthus ]. Young, 1900: 186 (pro part).

Lupa dicantha Dana, 1852: 272 , [type: 1 ♂, dry, USNM 2371 , Rio de Janeiro, Brazil]; 1855, pl. 16, fig. 7a–c.

Callinectes danae Smith, 1869: 7 [syntypes: 1 ♂, 1 ♀, MCZ 5143; 1 ♂, 1 ♀, YPM 824, Recife, Pernambuco, Brazil, C.F. Hartt (coll.)].— Rathbun 1896: 357: pl. 16; pl. 24, fig. 4; pl. 25, fig. 3; pl. 26, fig. 3; 1900: 48; 1930: 118, figs. 15 d, 16 b, 17 b, 18 d, Pl. 51; 1933: 49. Chace & Hobbs 1969: 130, fig. 37b. Williams 1974: 746, figs. 7, 18 e, 20 e–f, 22 e, 24; 1984: 367, figs. 293 d, 295. Melo 1996: 314, unnumbered figure. Coelho et al. 2008: 28 . Ng et al. 2008: 150. Poupin 2018: 207. Mantelatto et al. 2020: 63 , fig. 18F.

Material examined. Barbados, Long Pond , St. Andrew, 13̊ 15’40.6” N–59̊ 33’22.94” W, coastal wetland, 1 ♂ CW: 75.4 mm ( BLSZ 077 ). Idem, 1 ♂ CW: 73.5 mm ( BLSZ 093 ) .

Distribution. Callinectes danae is found in the Western Atlantic: Bermuda, Florida, Texas, Mexico, Cuba, Jamaica, Haiti, Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, St. Thomas, St Croix, St Martin, Guadeloupe, Martinique, St. Lucia, Barbados, Honduras, Panama, Trinidad, Isla los Roques, Isla de Providencia, Margarita, Tortuga, Curaçao, Aruba, Colombia, Venezuela, and Brazil ( Rathbun 1930; Chace & Hobbs 1969; Williams 1974; Melo 1996; Poupin 2018).

Distribution in Barbados. Long Pond [ Table 1 (Site #s: 3)].

Habitat in Barbados. Coastal wetland in brackish water river system with sandy and muddy bottoms. Collected near the mouth of the wetland at 0.5 m depth, with salinity of ~ 25 ppt ( Fig. 2A : A, B).

Ecological notes. Specimens of Callinectes danae were collected both during the day and night using onion bag traps baited with chicken viscera ( Fig. 3A ). Callinectes danae does not appear to be as common as the other species of Callinectes in Barbados; during this study, only two specimens were collected: one in January 2019 and the other in February 2020. Callinectes danae were caught along with Callinectes bocourti and Callinectes sapidus at the Long Pond wetland.

Remarks. Rathbun (1930) reported two (2) male specimens stored in the British Museum, collected by F. G. Beckford from Barbados; no collection date was provided by Rathbun. Callinectes danae can be identified by the shape of the four frontal teeth on the carapace; the submesial pair are smaller and more reduced than the lateral pair. The tips of male first gonopod reach past midpoint of sixth thoracic sternite ( Rathbun 1930; Williams 1974; Williams 1984).

Figures

FIGURE 2A. Semi-terrestrial and estuarine habitats of Barbados. A, B, Coastal Wetlands; C, D, Rocky Shores (Photos: N. Parasram).

FIGURE 3. Sampling methodologies used for specimen collection. A, Baited onion bag trap (0.95 m x 0.55 m; mesh size: 0.5 mm); B, Large crab trap (B:1.0 x 0.40 m; mesh size: 50 x 40 mm); C, Small cage crab trap (C: 0.5 x 0.2 m, mesh size: 30 x 15 mm); D, Hand nets (diameter: 60 mm; mesh size: 0.1 mm); E, Fruit bait outside of crab burrow.

FIGURE 5. Habitus of Callinectes danae Smith, 1869 (BLSZ 093). Male: A, dorsal view; B, ventral view. Scale bar: 20 mm.