Hostname: page-component-8448b6f56d-gtxcr Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-04-24T03:18:34.569Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Copulatory system of the spider crab Libinia spinosa (Crustacea: Brachyura: Majoidea)

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  07 April 2011

M.P. Sal Moyano ,
M.A. Gavio  and
E.I. Cuartas
M.P. Sal Moyano*
Affiliation:
Departamento de Biología, Estación Costera J. J. Nágera, Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales, Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata, Funes, 3350, 7600, Mar del Plata, Argentina CONICET, Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas, Rivadavia, 1917, C1033AJ Buenos Aires, Argentina
M.A. Gavio
Affiliation:
Departamento de Biología, Estación Costera J. J. Nágera, Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales, Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata, Funes, 3350, 7600, Mar del Plata, Argentina
E.I. Cuartas
Affiliation:
Departamento de Biología, Estación Costera J. J. Nágera, Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales, Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata, Funes, 3350, 7600, Mar del Plata, Argentina
*
Correspondence should be addressed to: M.P. Sal Moyano, Departamento de Biología, Estación Costera J. J. Nágera, Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales, Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata, Funes, 3350, 7600, Mar del Plata, Argentina email: salmoyan@mdp.edu.ar
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Functional morphology of the male gonopods, female holding systems and vulvae of Libinia spinosa are described using scanning electron microscopy and histological sections, establishing differences between immature and mature individuals. The first gonopod of mature males, larger than 35.1 mm of carapace width (CW), is long, slender, and ending in two wing-like processes; abdominal, characterized by the presence of a sub-terminal seminal canal, and sternal, closed and where the cuticle holds setae. In immature males, smaller than 29.9 mm CW, both processes are shorter, and the tip of the abdominal process closed. Six different types of setae are described for both gonopods. Internally, the gonopods have rosette glands in immature and mature individuals. The presence of secretions, which may be involved in the moulting process, was observed in immature males towards the external cuticle corresponding to the rosette glands. The rosette glands may be related to reproduction in mature males. Females presented a press-button holding system and a biconcave vulva. In immature females, smaller than 36.1 mm CW, the vulva aperture was closed by integument bulging to the outside. In mature females, larger than 42.6 mm CW, the locking system was almost fused to the cuticle, and the vulvae showed an open biconcave form with a more inner flexible membrane. Morphological characteristics shown by the gonopods of mature males develop synchronously with the acquisition of physiological maturity, not with morphometrical maturity. The mature holding systems and vulvae of females are developed synchronously with physiological and morphometrical maturity.

Keywords

gonopodsrosette glandsvulvaholding systemsspider crabmaturitymoltinsemination
Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom , Volume 91 , Issue 8 , December 2011 , pp. 1617 - 1625
Copyright
Copyright © Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom 2011

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

REFERENCES

Arsenault, A.L., Clattenburg, R.E. and Aiken, D.E. (1979) The morphology and secretory-transport mechanism of the tegumental glands of the lobster (Homarus americanus) as related to the molt cycle. Journal of Submicroscopical Cytology 11, 193–207.Google Scholar
Barón, P.J., Quiroga, A.P., Leal, G.A. and González-Pisani, X. (2009) Morphological maturity of the knobbed spider crab, Leurocyclus tuberculosus (H. Milne Edwards and Lucas, 1842) (Brachyura, Majidae) in the northern Patagonian gulfs. Crustaceana 82, 267–273.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bauer, R.T. (1986) Phylogenetic trends in sperm transfer and storage complexity in decapod crustaceans. Journal of Crustacean Biology 6, 313–325.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Benhalima, K. and Moriyasu, M. (2001) Prevalence of bacteria in the spermatheca of female snow crab, Chionoecetes oipilo (Brachyura: Majidae). Hidrobiologia 449, 261–266.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Beninger, P., Elner, R. and Poussart, Y. (1991) The gonopods of the majid crab Chionocetes opilio (O. Fabricius). Journal of Crustacean Biology 11, 217–228.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Beninger, P.G., Lanteigne, C. and Elner, R.W. (1993) Reproductive process revealed by spermatophore dehiscence experiments and by histology, ultrastructure, and histochemistry of the female reproductive system in the snow crab Chionoecetes opilio (O. Fabricus). Journal of Crustacean Biology 13, 1–16.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Beninger, P.G., Ferguson, A. and Lanteigne, C. (1995) The gonopod tegumental glands of snow crab (Chionoecetes opilio) are accessory reproductive glands. Journal of Shellfish Research 14, 365–370.Google Scholar
Beninger, P.G. and Larocque, R. (1998) Gonopod tegumental glands: a new accessory sex gland in the Brachyura. Marine Biology 132, 435–444.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Boschi, E.E. (1964) Los crustáceos Decápodos Brachyura del Litoral Bonaerense (R. Argentina). Boletín del Instituto de Biología Marina, Mar del Plata 6, 1–76.Google Scholar
Boschi, E.E. (2000) Species of decapod crustaceans and their distribution in the American Marine Zoogeographic Provinces. Revista de Investigación y Desarrollo Pesquero 13, 7–136.Google Scholar
Boschi, E.E., Fischbach, C. and Iorio, M.I. (1992) Catálogo ilustrado de los crustáceos estomatópodos y decápodos marinos de Argentina. Frente Marítimo 10, 7–94.Google Scholar
Brandis, D., Storch, V. and Türkay, M. (1999) Morphology and function of the copulatory system in freshwater crabs of the genus Potamon. Journal of Morphology 239, 157–166.3.0.CO;2-E>CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Chambers, C.L., Payne, J.F. and Kennedy, M.L. (1980) Geographic variation in the first pleopod of the form I male dwarf crayfish, Cambarellus puer Hobbs (Decapoda: Cambaridae). Crustaceana 38, 169–177.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Chen, W., Cheng, J., Chen, T. and Hsu, M.J. (2007) A comparison of the micromorphology of the G1 of freshwater crabs of the genus Geothelphusa (Brachyura, Potamidae) from Taiwan. Crustaceana 80, 861–889.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Corgos, A. and Freire, J. (2006) Morphometric and gonad maturity in the spider crab Maja brachydactyla: a comparison of methods for estimating size at maturity in species with determinate growth. Journal of Marine Science 63, 851–859.Google Scholar
Derby, C.D. (1982) Structure and function of cuticular sensilla of the lobster Homarus americanus. Journal of Crustacean Biology 2, 1–21.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Diesel, R. (1989) Structure and function of the reproductive system of the symbiotic spider crab Inachus phalangium (Decapoda: Majidae): observations on sperm transfer, sperm storage, and spawning. Journal of Crustacean Biology 9, 266–277.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Diesel, R. (1991) Sperm competition and the evolution of mating behavior in Brachyura, with special reference to spider crabs (Decapoda, Majidae). In Bauer, R.T. and Martin, J.W. (eds) Crustacean sexual biology. New York: Columbia University Press, pp. 145–163.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Donaldson, W.E. and Adams, A.E. (1989) Ethogram of behavior with emphasis on mating for the tanner crab Chionoecetes bairdi Rathbun. Journal of Crustacean Biology 9, 37–53.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Elner, R.W. and Beninger, P.G. (1992) The reproductive biology of the snow crab, Chionoecetes opilio: a synthesis of recent contributions. American Zoologist 32, 524–533.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Elner, R.W. and Beninger, P.G. (1995) Multiple reproductive strategies in snow crab, Chionoecetes opilio: physiological pathways and behavioral plasticity. Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology 193, 93–112.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Garm, A. (2004) Revising the definition of the crustacean seta and setal classification systems based on examinations of the mouthpart setae of seven species of decapods. Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society 142, 233–252.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gorvett, H. (1946) The tegumental glands in the land Isopoda. A. The rosette glands. Journal of Microscopical Science 87, 209–235.Google ScholarPubMed
Guinot, D. and Bouchard, J.M. (1998) Evolution of the abdominal holding systems of the brachyuran crabs (Crustacea, Decapoda, Brachyura). Zoosystema 20, 613–694.Google Scholar
Guinot, D. and Quenette, G. (2005) The spermatheca in podotreme crabs (Crustacea, Decapoda, Brachyura, Podotremata) and its phylogenetic implications. Zoosystema 27, 267–342.Google Scholar
Hartnoll, R.G. (1965) The biology of spider crabs: a comparison of British and Jamaican species. Crustaceana 9, 1–16.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hartnoll, R.G. (1968) Reproduction in the burrowing crab, Corystes cassivelaunus (Pennat, 1777) (Decapoda, Brachyura). Crustaceana 15, 165–170.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hartnoll, R.G. (1975) Copulatory structure and function in the Dromiacea, and their bearing on the evolution of the Brachyura. Pubblicazioni della Stazione Zoologica di Napoli 39, 657–676.Google Scholar
Hartnoll, R.G. (2006) Reproductive investment in Brachyura. Hydrobiologia 557, 31–40.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Jennings, A.C., McLay, C.L. and Brockerhoff, A.M. (2000) Mating behaviour of Macrophthalmus hirtipes (Brachyura: Ocypodidae). Marine Biology 137, 267–278.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Jensen, P.C., Orensanz, J.M. and Armstrong, D.A. (1996) Structure of the female reproductive tract in the Dungeness crab (Cancer magister) and implications for the mating system. Biological Bulletin. Marine Biological Laboratory, Woods Hole 190, 336–349.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Johnson, B. and Talbot, P. (1987) Ultrastructural analysis of the pleopod tegumental glands in male and female lobsters, Homarus americanus. Journal of Crustacean Biology 7, 228–301.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Jones, D.R. and Hartnoll, R.G. (1997) Mate selection and mating behavior in spider crabs. Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science 44, 185–193.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Laufer, H., Sagi, A. and Ahl, J.S.B. (1994) Alternative mating strategies of the polymorphic males of Libinia emarginata appear to depend on methyl farnesoate. Invertebrate Reproduction and Development 26, 41–44.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Martin, J.W. and Abele, L.G. (1986) Notes on male pleopod morphology in the brachyuran crab family Panopeidae Ortmann, 1983, sensu Guinot (1978) (Decapoda). Crustaceana 50, 182–198.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Neumann, V. (1996) Comparative gonopod morphology of the European spider crabs of the genus Maja Lamarck 1801 (Crustacea: Decapoda: Brachyura: Majidae). Senckenbergiana Biologica 75, 143–157.Google Scholar
Ng, P.K.L., Guinot, D. and Davie, P.J.L. (2008) Systema Brachyrorum: Part 1. An annotated checklist of extant brachyuran crabs of the world. Raffles Bulletin of Zoology 17, 1–286.Google Scholar
Nishimura, S. (1967) Male first pleopods of the majid brachyurans Chionoecetes opilio (O. Fabricius) and C. japonicus Rathbun from the Japan Sea. Publications of the Seto Marine Biological Laboratory 15, 165–171.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Phillips, B.F. and Macmillan, D.L. (1987) Antennal receptors in puerulus and postpuerulus stages of the rock lobster Panulirus cygnus (Decapoda: Palinuridae) and their potential role in puerulus navigation. Journal of Crustacean Biology 7, 122–135.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rorandelli, R., Paoli, F., Cannicci, S., Mercati, D. and Giusti, F. (2008) Characteristics and fate of the spermatozoa of Inachus phalangium (Decapoda, Majidae): description of novel sperm structures and evidence for an additional mechanism of sperm competition in Brachyura. Journal of Morphology 269, 259–271.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Sagi, A., Homola, E. and Laufer, H. (1993) Distinct reproductive types of male spider crab Libinia emarginata differ in circulating and synthesizing methyl farnesoate. Biological Bulletin. Marine Biological Laboratory, Woods Hole 185, 168–173.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sainte-Marie, G., Sévigny, J.M. and Carpentier, M. (2002) Interannual variability of sperm reserves and fecundity of primiparous females of the snow crab (Chionoecetes opilio) in relation to sex ratio. Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Science 59, 1932–1940.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sainte-Marie, B., Gosselin, T., Sévigny, J.M. and Urbani, N. (2008) The snow crab mating system: opportunity for natural and unnatural selection in a changing environment. Bulletin of Marine Science 83, 131–161.Google Scholar
Sal Moyano, M.P. (2007) Biología reproductiva de Libinia spinosa (Crustacea: Decapoda: Majidae) en el ambiente costero de Mar del Plata: caracteres morfológicos asociados al comportamiento reproductivo. Thesis. Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata, Mar del Plata, Argentina.Google Scholar
Sal Moyano, M.P., Gavio, M.A. and Cuartas, E.I. (2010a) Morphology and function of the reproductive tract of the spider crab Libinia spinosa (Crustacea, Brachyura, Majoidea): pattern of sperm storage. Helgoland Marine Research 64, 213–221.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sal Moyano, M.P., Gavio, M.A. and Maggi, M.D. (2010b) Morphometric and gonad maturity of the spider crab Libinia spinosa (Crustacea: Brachyura: Majoidea: Epialtidae) in Argentina. Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom doi: 10.1017/S0025315410001657.Google Scholar
Scelzo, M., Martinez Arca, J. and Lucero, N. (2002) Diversidad, densidad y biomasa de la macrofauna componente de los fondos de pesca ‘camarón-langostino’ frente a mar del Plata, Argentina (1998–1999). Revista de Investigación y Desarrollo Pesquero 15, 43–66.Google Scholar
Stevenson, J.R. (1961) Polyphenol oxidase in the tegumental glands in relation to the molting cycle of the isopod crustacean Armadillidium vulgare. Biological Bulletin. Marine Biological Laboratory, Woods Hole 121, 554–560.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Talbot, P. and Zao, P. (1991) Secretions at molting by the pleopod tegumental glands of the lobster Homarus americanus (Milne Edwards). Journal of Crustacean Biology 11, 1–9.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Thompson, G.A. and McLay, C.L. (2005) Mating behavior of Heterozius rotundifrons (Crustacea: Brachyura: Bellidae): is it a hard or soft shell mater? Marine and Freshwater Research 56, 1107–1116.CrossRefGoogle Scholar