Some data on the biology of the crab Rhithropanopeus harrisii (Gould, 1841) (Brachyura: Panopeidae) of the Azov sea in summer 2011
https://doi.org/10.46845/1997-3071-2025-76-11-24
Abstract
This work provides data on sex ratio, body sizes and body weight, weight growth of individuals of the Harris crab (Rhithropanopeus harrisii). Using of an original method of morphometry, created for the species R. harrisii, made it possible to compile a biometric passport database for the species from the Taman Bay. The evaluation of biology features showed dominance of males in the sample (3.4 times, there were no juveniles), which may be a consequence of the specifics of material collection or indicate instability of habitat conditions, including insufficient food availability; the carapace length of individuals was 6.2–15.1 mm, carapace width – 7.7–26.3 mm. Ma- ximum and average sizes of females were smaller by 1.3 and 1.7 times, respectively. The peculiarities of sexual dimorphism of the species were described for the first time in terms of the size of exoskeleton parts (carapax, abdomen, claws of clawed and merus walking legs); the sizes of most plastic characters in males exceeded those of females by 9–45% (exception - width of the fourth segment of abdomen - it was larger in females by 28%). New features of the morphology of the species have been obtained: the right chela of both sexes’ individuals is 7–16% larger than the left one. The individual body weight of crabs in general is 0.17–3.83 g, with males being larger than females by an average of 63%. Size-weight relationship has been evaluated: weight growth of both males and females is slightly ahead of their linear growth. The paper presents recommendations on measurements of crab abdominal segments when estimating abdomen width.
Keywords
Rhithropanopeus harrisii,
Taman Bay,
sex ratio,
morphometry,
size,
body weight,
weight growth,
sexual dimorphism
Supporting agencies: The authors are grateful to the specialists of the Shirshov Institute of Oceanology of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, for collecting the materials and transferring them for study
About the Authors
A. S. Ovcharuk
Kaliningrad State Technical University
Russian Federation
Russian Federation
Anastasiya S. Ovcharuk – Master degree student
Kaliningrad
S. A. Sudnik
Kaliningrad State Technical University
Russian Federation
Russian Federation
Svetlana A. Sudnik - PhD in Biology, Associate Professor of the Department of Water Bioresources and Aquaculture
Kaliningrad
References
1. Reznichenko O. G. Transokeanicheskaya autoakklimatizatsiya ritropanopeusa (Rhithropanopeus harrisii: Crustacea, Brachyura) [Transoceanic autoacclimatization of Rhithropanopeus (Rhithropanopeus harrisii: Crustacea, Brachyura)]. Tr. In-ta okeanol. AN SSSR, 1967, no. 85, pp. 136–177.
2. Zalota A. K. Chuzherodnye vidy desyatinogikh rakoobraznykh (Crustacea Decapoda) v moryakh Rossii i sopredel'nykh vodakh. Diss. kand. biol. nauk [Invasive species of decapod crustaceans (Crustacea Decapoda) in Russian seas and adjacent waters. Dis. kand. biol. sci.]. Moscow, 2017, 255 p.
3. Samye opasnye invazionnye vidy Rossii (Top-100) [The most dangerous invasive species in Russia (Top 100)]. Pod red. Yu. Dgebuadze, V. G. Petrosyan, L. A. Khlyap. Moscow, t-vo nauchnykh izdaniy KMK, 2018, 688 p.
4. Filipenko S. I., Mustya M. V. O pervoy nakhodke gollandskogo kraba Rhithropanopeus harrisii tridentata (Maitland, 1874) v Pridnestrov'e [About the first finding of the Dutch crab Rhithropanopeus harrisii tridentata (Maitland, 1874) in Pridnestro vie]. Minsk, BGU, 2016, pp. 397–398.
5. Hiebert T. C., Butler B. A., Shanks A. L. Oregon Estuarine Invertebrates: Rudys' Illustrated Guide to Common Species, 3rd ed. University of Oregon Libraries and Oregon Institute of Marine Biology. 2016. P. 404–409.
6. Sudnik S. A., Poddueva E. A. Biologiya krabov Lyphira perplexa Galil, 2009 (Crustacea: Brachyura: Leucosiidae) Yuzhno-Kitayskogo moray [Biology of the crab Lyphira perplexa Galil, 2009 (Crustacea: Brachyura: Leucosiidae) of the South China Sea]. Izvestiya KGTU, 2019, no. 52, pp. 43–59.
7. Mayer E. M., Koltun V. M., Naumov D. V. et al. Atlas bespozvonochnykh Kaspiyskogo morya [Invertebrate Atlas of the Caspian Sea]. Pod red. Ya. A. Birshteyna [et al.]. Kasp. nauch.-issled. in-t rybnogo khoz-va "KaspNIRKH". Vsesoyuz. nauch.-issled. in-t morskogo rybnogo khoz-va i okeanografii "VNIRO". Moscow, Pishchevaya prom-st’, 1968, 415 p.
8. Ovcharuk A. S. Sozdanie metodiki morfometricheskogo analiza dlya kraba KHarrisa, Rhithropanopeus harrisii (Gould, 1841) (Brachyura: Panopeidae) i pervye rezul'taty morfometrii vida iz Tamanskogo zaliva Azovskogo moray [Development of morphometric analysis methodology for the Harris crab, Rhithropanopeus harrisii (Gould, 1841) (Brachyura: Panopeidae) and the first results of morphometry of the species from the Taman Bay of the Azov Sea]. II Natsional'naya nauchno-tekhnicheskaya konferentsiya studentov i kursantov «Dni nauki» «Kaliningradskiy gosudarstvennyy tekhnicheskiy universitet» 10-22 aprelya 2023 goda, materialy. Kaliningrad, BGARF FGBOU VO «KGTU» Publ., 2023, pp. 151–156.
9. Rassadina E. V., Antonova Zh. A. Ekologiya populyatsiy i soobshchestv: uchebno-metodicheskoe posobie [Ecology of populations and associations: educational manual]. Ulyanovsk, UlGU, 2015, 360 p.
10. Weaver Sh., Bass D. Morphometric Analysis of the Harris Mud Crab (Rhithropanopeus harrisii) in Lake Texoma. Proceedings of the Oklahoma Academy of Science, 2022. V. 102. P. 57–62.
11. Roche D. G., Torchin M. E. Established population of the North American Harris mud crab, Rhithropanopeus harrisii (Gould, 1841) (Crustacea: Brachyura: Xanthidae) in the Panama Canal. Aquatic Invasions, 2007. V. 2. P. 155–161.
12. Kaufman Z. S. Evolyutsiya razmnozheniya pola [Evolution of sex reproduction]. Petrozavodsk, Karel'skiy nauch. tsentr RAN, 1994, vol. 2, 190 p.
13. Nilssen E. M. Demography, fecundity, growth and mortality of the deep-water prawn P. borealis from Isfjord, Spitsbergen (78°N). ICES. Shellfish Committee, 1990. N 109. 36 p.
14. Payen G. Physiologie des invertebres - Effets masculinisants des glandes androgenes implantees chez la femelle pubere pedonculectomisee de Rhithropanopeus harrisii (Gould) (Crustace, Decapode Brachyoure). Comptes Rendus Hebdomadaires des Seances de l'Academie des Sciences, 1975. V. 280. P. 1111–1114.
15. Hegele-Drywa J., Normant M., Szwarc B., Podłuska. A. Population structure, morphometry and individual condition of the non-native crab Rhithropanopeus harrisii (Gould, 1841), a recent coloniser of the Gulf of Gdańsk (southern Baltic Sea). Oceanologia, 2014. V. 56. N 4. P. 805–824.
16. Czerniejewski P. Some aspects of population biology of the mud crab, Rhithropanopeus harrisii (Gould, 1841) in the Odra estuary, Poland. Oceanological and Hydrobiological Studies, 2009. V. 38. N 4. P. 49–62.
Review
For citations:
Ovcharuk A.S., Sudnik S.A. Some data on the biology of the crab Rhithropanopeus harrisii (Gould, 1841) (Brachyura: Panopeidae) of the Azov sea in summer 2011. KSTU News. 2025;(76):11-24. (In Russ.) https://doi.org/10.46845/1997-3071-2025-76-11-24
Views:
14
Email this article 