Range extension of two invasive crab species in eastern Australia: Carcinus maenas (Linnaeus) and Pyromaia tuberculata (Lockington)

Abstract

Relatively few introduced crabs are presently known from Australian waters. The present report significantly extends the documented range of the European Shore Crab Carcinus maenas (Linnaeus) and the Fire Crab Pyromaia tuberculata (Lockington) in eastern Australia, based on recently collected specimens now deposited in the Australian museum, Sydney (AM), and old collections in the Macleay museum, University of Sydney (MM) (Appendix). Carcinus maenas is well known as an invasive and destructive species (Behrens Yamada, 2001). The species is native to the northeastern Atlantic but is now established in southern Australia, South Africa, the northern Pacific and Atlantic coasts of North America (Carlton and Cohen, 2003). Carcinus maenas was first reported in Australia in 1900 from Port Phillip Bay, Victoria, and is believed to have arrived on hull fouling on ships or amongst discarded, solid, marine ballast (Fulton and Grant, 1902). Owing to the busy shipping trade between European ports and Port Phillip Bay in the 19th century, it is likely that Port Phillip Bay was the original site of introduction (Proctor and Thresher, 1997). Carcinus maenas has since been reported from the Swan River, Western Australia, Gulf St. Vincent and the Coorong, South Australia, eastern Tasmania and Port Phillip Bay, Victoria, to Narooma, southern New South Wales (Furlani, 1996; Proctor and Thresher, 1997) (Fig. 1(A)). The present new eastern Australian records of C. maenas from Jervis Bay, Lake Conjola, and the Sydney area extend the documented range in New South Wales from Nangudga Lake, near Narooma (36°15'S), northwards by almost 300 km. Aside from the listed specimens, C. maenas was also sighted in the littoral zpne by the present author at the following localities on the