A Comparative Morphometric Analysis ofCancer borealisStimpson, 1859 andC. irroratusSay, 1817 (Decapoda: Brachyura: Cancridae) in the Northwest Atlantic Ocean

Abstract

ABSTRACT The distributions of Cancer borealis and Cancer irroratus are analyzed, a record of C. borealis from Bermuda is confirmed, and new records of C. irroratus from Haiti are reported. Important morphological characters from the carapace were selected and tested for significant differences across latitude and depth gradients. One-way analysis of variance was used to test for significance. Least square means technique with Tukey—Kramer statistics was used to examine the differences between character measurement means. Northern (above 41°N) and southern (below 30°N) groups of C. borealis showed significant (P < 0.05) differences from mid-latitude groups in carapace and chelae measurement means. In C. irroratus, northern (above 38°N) and southern (below 32°N) groups also exhibited significant (P < 0.05) differences from mid-latitude groups in carapace and chelae measurement means. Discriminant function analysis using morphological diagnostic characters were used effectively to differentiate between the t...