Studies On Decapod Crustacea From the Indian River Region of Florida. Iii. Callinectes Bocourti a. Milne Edwards, 1879 (Decapoda, Portunidae) From the Central East Coast of Florida

Abstract

Callinectes bocourti, a large, swimming crab of some commercial importance, is found predominantly throughout the West Indies and down to Brazil. Holt huis (1959) noted that the species was the most abundant portunid found in Surinam, probably because it was able to tolerate lower salinities than other swimming crabs in the region. Provenzano (1961) recorded the species for the first time in the continental United States based on a mature male specimen deposited in the University of Miami Marine Laboratory Museum; the specimen was collected at Matheson Hammock, Biscayne Bay, Florida. Recently, Perry (1973) reported a second specimen, from Biloxi Bay, Mississippi, thus extending the known range of the species to the northern Gulf of Mexico. We report here yet a third specimen, a mature male, which was collected in the Indian River, Indian River County, Vero Beach, Florida, during the summer of 1973 by Mr. Gerald Herting then with the Florida State Department of Natural Resources. The Indian River record is approximately 150 miles (250 km) north on the central eastern coast of Florida from the specimen-locality reported by Proven zano, though not as far north latitudinally as Perry's record. Our specimen, as Provenzano's and Perry's material, also agrees well with the description provided by Rathbun (1930: 128) although we noted several apparently minor differ ences. In her diagnosis, Rathbun noted the lateral spine as less than twice as long as the preceding tooth. In our specimen, the posterolateral spine was 10.9 mm long, whereas the penultimate lateral tooth was 5.0 mm long. Strict adherence to Rathbun's key would place the species as Callinectes toxotes Ordway, 1863, an eastern Pacific species and the possible analog of C. bocourti. However, all other features, including intramedial ratios, frontal teeth, and male gonopods were in agreement with that indicated by Rathbun in her description for C. bocourti. Neither Provenzano nor Perry gave color notes for their respective specimens. The coloration in our specimen, only recently preserved, was noteworthy. Holt huis (1959: 203) stated that the color pattern for this species was remarkable, the palm of the chela being dark reddish brown above and whitish below, the