Abstract
The shamefaced crab Calappa tuerkayana Pastore, 1995 and the mantis shrimp Parasquilla ferussaci (Roux, 1828) are two crustacean species rarely reported in the Mediterranean Sea. In December 2018, two specimens of C. tuerkayana and one specimen of P. ferussaci were collected on a soft bottom at about 132 and 145 m depth during a trawl survey off Mazara del Vallo harbour (Strait of Sicily). This note reports the northernmost record of C. tuerkayana in the Strait of Sicily and confirms the occurrence of P. ferussaci in the same area. An update of the spatial distribution of these crustacean species in the Mediterranean Sea is also presented.
Highlights
Crustacean species are among the most economically important seafood products (Okpala et al, 2016; Scannella et al, 2017; Vitale et al, 2018a, 2018b) but some species within the Decapods and Stomatopods have little or no commercial significance and their biology and distribution are poorly understood (Swaby and Potts, 1990)
Little is known about the geographical distribution of the shamefaced crab Calappa tuerkayana Pastore, 1995 and the mantis shrimp Parasquilla ferussaci (Roux, 1828)
C. granulata is the most common and widely distributed species (Pipitone et al, 2018) whereas C. tuerkayana and C. rosea are uncommon species with only few specimens recorded in the Sicily–Malta channel (Pipitone et al, 2018) and eastward of Kerkenah Island (Spanò et al, 2004), respectively
Summary
Crustacean species are among the most economically important seafood products (Okpala et al, 2016; Scannella et al, 2017; Vitale et al, 2018a, 2018b) but some species within the Decapods and Stomatopods have little or no commercial significance and their biology and distribution are poorly understood (Swaby and Potts, 1990). C. tuerkayana has a carapace not much wider than long, with the antero–lateral edge nearly even and the postero–lateral edge that has 7–8 thorny processes, increasing in size in a backward direction (Pastore, 1995) This crab species can be differentiated from granulata and C. rosea by the pigmentation of the carapace, which is rust–coloured with red bands on epigastric, urogastric and cardiac regions, and deep carapace grooves on either side of the epigastric–cardiac–urogastric region (Pastore, 1995; Pipitone and Vaccaro, 2011; Spanò et al, 2004). The present note reports a new record of C. tuerkayana and confirms the occurrence of P. ferussaci in the Strait of Sicily, providing an up–to–date geographical distribution of these uncommon species in the Mediterranean basin
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