Abstract
The morphology of the fifth pereiopods was studied under scanning electron microscopy in ten species of porcelain crabs for chaetotaxy and setal diversity, namelly Megalobrachium pacificum, Megalobrachium roseum, Pachycheles grossimanus, Petrolisthes armatus, Petrolisthes tuberculatus, Pisidia brasiliensis, Pisidia longicornis, Polyonyx gibbesi, Porcellana platycheles and Porcellana sayana. Six setal types were identified: simple, pappose, sickle-shaped serrate, straight serrate, club-shaped and tooth-like cuspidate. Porcelain crabs can differ in the fifth pereiopod setal morphology, chaetotaxy and setal density, even among species within the same genus. The absence of sexual dimorphism of the grooming legs in porcelain crabs suggests that grooming eggs requires no particular grooming apparatus in females and that male and female are equal in grooming efficiency.
Highlights
Many decapod crustaceans use at least one pair of thoracopods for grooming the body
The morphology of the fifth pereiopods was studied under scanning electron microscopy in ten species of porcelain crabs for chaetotaxy and setal diversity, namelly Megalobrachium pacificum, Megalobrachium roseum, Pachycheles grossimanus, Petrolisthes armatus, Petrolisthes tuberculatus, Pisidia brasiliensis, Pisidia longicornis, Polyonyx gibbesi, Porcellana platycheles and Porcellana sayana
We examine the chaetotaxy and setal diversity on the grooming apparatus of the fifth pereiopod in ten porcelain crabs species related to six genera
Summary
Many decapod crustaceans use at least one pair of thoracopods for grooming the body. In anomuran crustaceans, the fifth pereiopod is che‐ late in males and females and differ significantly from other pereiopods by being distinctly mor‐ phologically reduced, markedly flexible, and often carried underneath the carapace. The morphology of the fifth pereiopods was studied under scanning electron microscopy in ten species of porcelain crabs for chaetotaxy and setal diversity, namelly Megalobrachium pacificum, Megalobrachium roseum, Pachycheles grossimanus, Petrolisthes armatus, Petrolisthes tuberculatus, Pisidia brasiliensis, Pisidia longicornis, Polyonyx gibbesi, Porcellana platycheles and Porcellana sayana.
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