Abstract
3), and the embryo volume increase during the incubation period was 32 %. Brood mortality was substantial (83 %), and since egg volume increase could not compensate for the egg loss, average egg mass volume decreased considerably during embryogenesis. The average brood mass at laying accounted for 13 % of the maternal body mass (on a wet mass basis), and this value coincides with previous findings concerning energy allocation for egg production in other brachyuran crabs. In general, our data regarding E. latreillii correspond well with those from spider crab species inhabiting the northern hemisphere. The large egg size of E. latreillii compared with majids from other geographical regions may be an indication of a latitudinal gradient in the reproductive biology of majid crabs. Future studies with spider crabs from the southern hemisphere are desirable to substantiate this assumption.
Highlights
Majidae are among the commonest families of decapod crustaceans reported from the southern hemisphere
Apart from some descriptions of the larval development of spider crabs, virtually nothing is known about the ecology of representatives of Majidae occurring in the southern hemisphere
The majid crab Eurypodius latreillii Guérin, 1828 has a wide known geographical distribution, ranging from Peru to the Straits of Magellan, and the species has been recorded along the Atlantic side from the tip of South America to the Gulf of San Matías, Argentina, from the Falkland Islands, and from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil (Garth, 1957; Retamal, 1973, 1974)
Summary
Majidae are among the commonest families of decapod crustaceans reported from the southern hemisphere (see Kensley, 1981). The majid crab Eurypodius latreillii Guérin, 1828 has a wide known geographical distribution, ranging from Peru to the Straits of Magellan, and the species has been recorded along the Atlantic side from the tip of South America to the Gulf of San Matías, Argentina, from the Falkland Islands, and from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil (Garth, 1957; Retamal, 1973, 1974). To contribute to a better understanding of life history traits of decapods inhabiting the waters in the vicinity of the Antarctic, which connect the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, we studied the reproductive biology of E. latreillii in the Straits of Magellan and compared our results with those obtained from other brachyuran crabs
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