Abstract
In this study the complete larval development (including four zoeal stages and a megalopa stage) of Dyspanopeus sayi is described and illustrated in detail based on larvae reared in the laboratory. Ovigerous females were collected in Alfacs Bay, Ebro Delta (NW Mediterranean) where the species was recently introduced. These larval stages were compared with others collected in the plankton from the same area, the larval stages described previously for this species and the larval stages of the two other Panopeidae that inhabit the Iberian Peninsula: Panopeus africanus and Rhithropanopeus harrisii. Differences were found in both zoeal and megalopal larval characters between D. sayi and the other two species, which could raise doubt about their placement in the same family.
Highlights
The native distribution of Say’s mud crab, Dyspanopeus sayi (Smith 1869), encompasses the Atlantic coast of North America from Florida to Canada (Nizinski 2003)
In the present study the complete larval development of Dyspanopeus sayi is described and illustrated in detail based on larvae reared in the laboratory
In the plankton samples a total of 9 zoeae I, 2 zoeae II and 1 zoea IV of Dyspanopeus sayi were identified and used for morphological and meristical comparison with those reared in the laboratory
Summary
The native distribution of Say’s mud crab, Dyspanopeus sayi (Smith 1869), encompasses the Atlantic coast of North America from Florida to Canada (Nizinski 2003). It is considered an invasive species in other parts of the world as a result of human activities and has probably been accidentally transported in ballast water like many other marine invertebrates (Davidson and Simkanin 2012). 1980, Clark 1986), on the French and Dutch coasts of the North Sea (Vaz et al 2007), and more recently in the Black Sea (Micu et al 2010) It is present in the Mediterranean Sea, where it has been collected in Venice, the Marano and Varano lagoons, and in the Po River Delta (western Adriatic Sea) (Froglia and Speranza 1993, Mizzan 1995, Florio et al 2008).
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