Callinectes sapidus Rathbun, 1896

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 : 462-464

Callinectes sapidus Rathbun, 1896

Fig. 6 A, B, C, D

Portunus diacantha Latreille, 1825: 190 [name suppressed, Opinion 712].

Callinectes sapidus Rathbun, 1896: 352 , pl. 12; pl. 24, fig. 1; pl. 25, fig. 1; pl. 26, fig. 1; pl. 27, fig. 1 [type locality restricted to “east coast of United States ” according to Williams, 1965]; 1930: 99, figs. 15 a, 16 c, 17 c, 18 a, 19, pl. 47. Chase & Hobbs 1969: 133, figs. 36 & 37 f. Williams 1974: 778, figs. 1, 16, 17, 19 d, 21, 23 b–c, 26; 1984: 376; figs. 293 g & 299 a–d. Melo 1996: 318, unnumbered figure. Almerigi et al. 1999: 30. Coelho et al. 2008: 29 . Ng et al. 2008: 151. García & Capote 2015: 12. Poupin 2018: 208. Mantelatto et al. 2020: 64 , fig. 18H.

Callinectes sapidus acutidens Rathbun, 1896: 345 , pls. 13, 24, fig. 2 [type: ♂, MCZ 4696 , Santa Cruz ( Estado de Bahia ) Brazil, Thayer Expedition].

Material examined. Barbados, Long Pond , St. Andrew, coastal wetland, 13̊ 15’40.6” N–59̊ 33’22.94” W, 1 ♀ CW: 140 mm ( BLSZ 005 ) . Idem , 1 ♂ (Juv) CW: 60.9 mm ( BLSZ 092 ) . Idem , 3 ♀ CW: 21.7; 23.4; 25.7 mm ( BLSZ 094 ) . 1 ♂ CW: 11.5 mm ( BLSZ 099 ; MZUSP 40872 ; 40869; 40867; 40875. Idem , 1 ♂ CW: 8.5 mm ( BLSZ 190 ; MZUSP 40875 ; 40874). Barbados, Cobblers Cove, St. Peter, coastal wetland, 13.14322388 N – 59.38363012 W, 1 ♂ CW: 122.5 mm ( BLSZ 109 ).

Distribution. Callinectes sapidus is found in the Western and Eastern Atlantic. Western Atlantic: Canada, USA (Massachusetts, Rhode Island, New York, New Jersey, Maryland, Potomac River, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Florida, Mississippi, Louisiana, Texas), Bermuda, Bahamas, Cuba, Jamaica, Puerto Rico, St. Croix, St. Barthélemy, Guadeloupe, Dominica, Martinique, Barbados (present study), Tobago, Trinidad, Nicaragua, Curaçao, Brazil, Uruguay, and Argentina. In the Eastern Atlantic: Denmark, United Kingdom, Netherlands, Germany, Belgium, Ukraine, France, Romania, Italy, Bulgaria, Spain, Portugal, Croatia, Albania, Greece, Turkey, Syria, Cyprus, Lebanon, Israel, Malta, Egypt ( Rathbun 1930; Chace & Hobbs 1969; Williams 1974; García & Capote 2015; Johnson 2015; Poupin 2018).

Distribution in Barbados. Long Pond and Cobblers Cove [ Table 1 (Site #s: 3 & 23)].

Habitat in Barbados. Coastal wetlands in brackish water rivers and streams with sandy and muddy bottoms, from 0.3–2 m deep; salinity ranges from ~ 0–25 ppt ( Fig. 2A : A, B).

Ecological notes. Adult specimens of Callinectes sapidus were only caught with baited traps ( Fig. 3B ) placed approximately 2 m deep at the Long Pond wetland. Juveniles were observed foraging along the mouth of the wetland and burrowing into the sandy substrate when approached. Specimens of C. sapidus were collected along with Callinectes bocourti and Callinectes danae in the Long Pond wetland, which is the only location in Barbados where all three species were caught together. C. sapidus was particularly evasive, possibly because it is heavily targeted by local fishermen who use them as bait to fish for jacks, namely Carnax hippos ( Linnaeus, 1766) . As a result, C. sapidus was more difficult to collect compared to the other Callinectes spp.

Remarks. This species is of local interest for subsistence fishing. Callinectes sapidus differs from other species of this genus by the shape of the frontal margin, which has two broad triangular teeth, instead of the four seen in the other species found in Barbados. Tips of the male first gonopod do not overlap and are positioned between the fourth and fifth thoracic sternites ( Rathbun 1930; Williams 1974). Callinectes sapidus is the most valuable Portunid species for commercial and recreational fisheries in the Northwest Atlantic, Gulf of Mexico, Caribbean Sea, and South America. Commercial landing statistics reported for C. sapidus in Area 31 (Western Central Atlantic) are 750,449 tons between 1984 and 1998 [(~ 50,029 ton /annum) ( Williams, 1974; Williams 1984; Tavares 2002; Sforza et al. 2010; Garcia & Capote 2015)].

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 6. Habitus of Callinectes sapidus Rathbun, 1896 (BLSZ 109, BLSZ 134). A, B, dorsal view of male and juvenile female; C, D, ventral view of male and juvenile female. Scale bars: 20 mm.