Charybdis Hellerii (Milne Edwards, 1867), A Nonindigenous Portunid Crab System Of Florida

6 Pages·1995·3.8 MB·

by  R Lemaitre

PROCEEDINGS OF THE BIOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF WASHINGTON
108(4):643-648. 1995
Charybdis hellerii (Milne Edwards, 1867), a nonindigenous portunid
crab (Crustacea: Decapoda: Brachyura) discovered in the
Indian River lagoon system of Florida
Rafael Lemaitre
Department of Invertebrate Zoology, National Museum ofNatural History,
Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C. 20560, U.S.A.
—
Abstract. The portunid crab Charybdis hellerii (Milne Edwards, 1867), a
species of Indo-Pacific origin, is reported from the Indian River lagoon system
of Florida. Although this species w^as reported in 1987-1988 from Cuba, Co-
lombia, and Venezuela, this is the first subsequent record in the western At-
lantic, and the first in the continental United States. The specimens found in
the Indian River include adults of both sexes (one female ovigerous), and
juveniles, indicating that the population is reproducing and that this nonindig-
enous species has become established in the region. This species must now be
considered present in the tropical western Atlantic at least across the entire
Caribbean region. Recognition characters of C. hellerii are provided, as well
as a summary of what is known about its distribution, biology, and probable
method of arrival. Comments on other marine decapods introduced in eastern
North America are included.
On 20 April 1995, two adult specimens, kay (1989) where it was also collected in
a male and an ovigerous female of Charyb- 1988. Although there have been no subse-
dis hellerii (Milne Edwards, 1867), a species quent published reports ofthis species, it has
of Indo-Pacific origin, were caught in baited been found repeatedly since 1988 in the
traps in the Indian River lagoon system of Santa Marta area of Colombia (N. H. Cam-
Florida in the vicinity ofthe Ft. Pierce Inlet. pos, pers. comm.). The present report of C.
The male, 74 X 49 mm of carapace width helleriiin eastern North Americaextends the
X carapace length, remained alive in an range of this species in the western Atlantic
aquarium for over a month until it was sac- across the Caribbean region, to include sub-
rificed. The ovigerous female (54 X 39 mm), tropical Florida.
died the same day it was captured. Follow- Keys for the identification of species of
C
ing an announcement at The Crustacean So- Charybdis as well as illustrations of hel-
ciety's summer meeting (Lemaitre 1995) of lerii, are available in a number of publica-
the discovery ofthese specimens, several re- tions (e.g., Chopra 1935, Leene 1938, Ste-
searchers (see names in acknowledgments) phenson et al. 1957, Stephenson 1972, Go-
working in the Indian River during the pe- mez & Martinez-Iglesias 1990). However, for
riod May-August 1995, informed me that the benefit ofresearchers working in the New
they had found additional adults and juve- World who may not have easy access to the
niles in the Sebastian and Fort Pierce Inlets. earlier, more detailed taxonomic references, it
Charybdis hellerii was first collected in seems appropriate to include here the most
the western Atlantic in 1987 (Fig. 1), in important recognifion characters of this new-
Cuba by Gomez & Martinez-Iglesias (1990), ly introduced species. Such informafion may
in Venezuela by Hernandez & Bolafios facilitate future discovery and monitoring of
(1995), and in Colombia by Campos & Ttir- populafions of this portunid crab.
644 PROCEEDINGS OF THE BIOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF WASHINGTON
Fig. 1. Map showing collecting dates and locations ofcapture of Charybdis hellerii (Milne Edwards, 1867)
in chronological order: 1, 2, Cuba: NE coast, Bahia Gibara (ProvinciaHolguin), and S coast, BahiaCienfuegos
(Provincia Cienfuegos) (Gomez & Martinez-Iglesias 1990); 3, NE Venezuela: Ensenada de Turpialito, Golfo de
Cariaco (Estado Sucre) (Hernandez & Bolafios 1995); 4, 5, Colombia: Bahia de Portete (Guajira), and Bahia
Chengue (Magdalena) (Campos & Tiirkay 1989); 6, eastern USA: Indian River, Ft. Pierce, Florida (this report).
—
Methodofcapture. The traps used were north ofSouth Bridge (about 20 m from the
m
cylindrical, and consisted of 50 cm-long mainland shoreline, in 4 depth). After
sections of PVC pipe of 20 cm diameter. capture, the specimens were transported to
The ends of each cylinder trap were fitted the laboratories of the Smithsonian Marine
with cone entrances made of galvanized Station at Link Port, Florida. The adult
hardware cloth with a 1 cm mesh size. The male and ovigerous female specimens have
cones were placed at each end with the nar- been deposited in the collections of the Na-
row end facing the inside of the pipe. A tional Museum of Natural History, Smith-
small plastic bait basket was tied in the sonian Institution, Washington, D.C., under
midsection ofeach trap. Bait used was mul- catalogue number USNM 275907.
let, purchased locally. Arrays of four traps
were fixed to a long line, with a 20 kg lead Family Portunidae
weight on each end of the line. Two such Charybdis hellerii (Milne Edwards, 1867)
arrays were left overnight in the vicinity of Figs. 1, 2
the Ft. Pierce Inlet: one in a channel south —
m
of Little Jim Island (in 1.5 depth); and Recognition characters. Carapace with
another in the Ft. Pierce turning basin just dorsal surface naked; anterolateral margin
VOLUME 108, NUMBER4 645
Fig. 2. Charybdis hellerii (Milne Edwards, 1867), male (74 X 49 mm), channel south ofLittle Jim Island,
USNM
Ft. Pierce, Florida, 275907.
with 6 sharp, black-tipped teeth (including for light purple area on upper, inner surface
outer orbital). Frontal region with 6 prom- of palm, and dark purple on dorsal surfaces
inent teeth: 2 inner orbitals plus 4 blunt of distal 4 segments of walking and swim-
submedians, latter reaching slightly in ad- ming legs. Carapace withpale green or whit-
vance of orbitals. Chela stout; palm with 5 ish areas on frontal, hepatic and epibranchial
strong black-tipped spines on dorsal face. regions. Fingers—of chehpeds dark purple.
Swimming leg with merus and carpus each Distribution. Indo-Pacific: Japan, Phil-
armed with strong black-tipped spine on ippines, New Caledonia, Australia, Hawaii,
posterior margin distally; propodus with and throughout the Indian Ocean, including
&
row ofspines on posteriormargin. Sixth ab- the Red Sea (Stephenson 1972, Kathirvel
dominal segment of male about as broad as Gopalakrishnan 1974, Vannini 1976, Javed
long, posterodistal margins rounded; telson & Mustaquim 1994). Eastern Mediterranean:
bluntly triangular, basal width less than dis- Israel, and Egypt (Steinitz 1929, Galil 1992).
tal width of sixth abdominal segment. Male Western Atlantic: eastern Florida, Cuba, Co-
first gonopods, when viewed in situ, reach- lombia, and Venezuela (Campos & Tiirkay
ing approximately to suture between fifth 1989, Gomez & Martinez-Iglesias 1990,
&
and sixth thoracic somite, diverging in dis- Hernandez —Bolafios 1995, this report).
tal third; each with row of about 25 slender Biology. This species is considered
spines on lateral margin distally (spines di- commercial in southeast Asia (Moosa
minishing in l—ength distally). 1981). Not much is known about its biol-
Coloration. Overall dark green except ogy. The larvae of C. hellerii, for example.
646 PROCEEDINGS OF THE BIOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF WASHINGTON
have not been described. Other species of Iglesias (1990:71), it is also possible that
Charybdis for which the complete larval this species was introduced in one or more
development is known, have five to six sites and subsequently dispersed via larval
&
zoeal stages and a megalopa (Greenwood stages to various othercoastal environments
C
Fielder 1980). Fecundity of hellerii, as in the region.
expressed by number of eggs, has been re- Presence in the Indian River of adults, in-
ported to range from 22,517 to 292,050 cluding at least one ovigerous female, and
eggs per female (Siddiqui & Ahmed 1992). juveniles, leaves little doubt that a reproduc-
C
Other congeneric species (e.g., cruciata, ing population exists in this area and that the
C. hoplites pusilla, C. natator, C. feriatus) species is already established. The scant in-
C
with biology probably similar to that of formation available on the biology ofC. hel-
hellerii, are known to spawn yearround but lerii indicates the potential of this species to
with peaks in early spring and fall, andhave successfully colonize marine ecosystems of
fecundities ranging from 181,230 to South Florida and the Gulf of Mexico.
&
3,200,000 million eggs per female (Pillai Marine decap—ods introduced in eastern
Nair 1970, 1976; Campbell 1984; Sumpton North America. Charybdis hellerii is the
1990). Charybdis hellerii prefers soft bot- third marine decapod to be introduced and
tom, although it is also found in rocky bot- become established in the North American
tom and among live coral, and ranges from Atlantic coast. The othertwo being the west-
m
the intertidal to 51 in depth (Stephenson em Pacific grapsid crab Hemigrapsus san-
&
et al. 1957, Galil 1992). Javed Musta- guineus (see Williams & McDermott 1990,
qCuim (1994) recently reported specimens of McDermott 1991), and the European portun-
hellerii from Pakistan that were carrying id crab Carcinus maenas (see Hedgpeth
acorn barnacles {Chelonibia patuld) on the 1993, Carlton & Geller 1993, Cohen et al.
carapace and chelipeds. — 1995, Carlton & Cohen 1996). Hemigrapsus
Timing and method ofCintroduction. sanguineus is now known from Cape Cod
Reports on the presence of hellerii in the to Chesapeake Bay (J. T Carlton, G. Ruiz,
Caribbean and Florida suggest that the ar-
A. H. Hines, Jr., pers. comms.). Carcinus
rival of this species in the region occurred
maenas is the oldest decapod introduction to
in relatively recent times, probably in the
(la1t9e891)9,80'asnd(seGeoFmieg.z1)&. CaMamrptoisnez&-ITgluerskiaays keansotwenrntoNhoarvtehbAeemnerpircease.ntTihniseasstpeercniNeosrtihs
(1990), observed that the presence of C. America at least since the early 1800's, al-
hellerii in Colombia and Cuba was corre- though it was then known under the name
lated with increased ship traffic coming Cancer granulatus Say, 1817 [see Rathbun
fspreocmietshemiegarsatteerdn vMieadittheerSrauneezanCawnhaelraendthiiss u1s9)3]0.:B15y,tuhnedlearteC1a8r0c0i'nsi,dCesmmaaeennaassw(aLisnnwaeel-l
now firmly estabfished (Steinitz 1929, Galil established from Cape Cod to New Jersey
1992). Campos & Turkay (1989:122) indi- (Smith 1879), and currently is known to be
cated the possibility that the species arrived established from Nova Scotia to New Jersey
in ballast water or "clinging to the ships (Cohen et al. 1995). It has also been intro-
trunk". Transport in ballast water is the duced to and is established in Australia,
most probable explanation for the arrival of South Africa, Japan, and Pacific North
this species to the Caribbean and eastern America (Le Roux et al. 1990, Carlton &
Florida. It is unlikely that crabs could cling Cohen 1996). Curiously, the older published
to the hull of any modern ship, although information on this species does not mention
crabs could be transported by ships in how it reached eastern North America. Re-
fouled sea chests or fouled seawater intake cently, Cohen et al. (1995) have indicated
pipes. As suggested by Gomez & Martinez- that the global dispersal of C maenas ap-
VOLUME 108, NUMBER4 647
pears to be linkedto the movementoffouled improved the manuscript. The following in-
and bored wooden ships. dividuals also supplied useful information:
At least five other marine decapods have Dave K. Camp (Florida Marine Research
been considered in the literature as "intro- Institute, St. Petersburg, Florida), A. J.
duced" in eastern North America but have Provenzano, Jr. (Old Dominion University,
not become established. Ofthese, two Indo- Norfolk, Virginia), M. Tavares (Universi-
West Pacific penaeids (Penaeus japonicus, dade Sta. Ursula, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil), E.
P. monodon) and two eastern Pacific pen- L. Wenner (Marine Resources Research In-
aeids {P. stylirostris, P. vannamei) are cul- stitute, Charleston, South Carolina), A. B.
tured extensively in South Carolina, Flori- Williams (National Marine Fisheries Ser-
da, and Texas, and while specimens of the vice, Washington, D.C.), and J. D. Williams
latter three have been found in the wild as (National Biological Survey, Gainesville,
escapees from the shrimp farms, no repro- Florida). This study was supported by the
ducing populations have been reported Smithsonian Marine Station at Link Port,
(Wenner & Knott 1992). The Asian Erioch- Ft. Pierce, Florida, and is contribution no.
eir sinensis or "Chinese mitten crab", is 387 from that Station.
believed to have arrived to eastern North
&
America in ship ballast water (Nepszy Literature Cited
Leach 1973). Adults of E. sinensis have
been steadily collected in the Great Lakes, Campbell, G. R. 1984. A comparative study ofadult
most in Lake Erie, since the early 1970's to sexual behaviour and larval ecology of three
1994 (J. T Carlton, pers. comm.). However, McoomrmeetrocniaBlalyyirmepgoirotnanotfpQoureteunnsildacnrda,bsAufsrtormaltiah.e
since E. sinensis is catadromous, it cannot Unpublished Ph.D. Thesis, University of
reproduce in the Great Lakes. One transient Queensland, 253 pp.
specimen of Eriocheir sinensis was found Campos, N. H., & M. Tiirkay. 1989. On a record of
in Louisianain 1987 but has not been found Charybdis—helleri from the Caribbean coast of
Colombia. Senckenbergiana Maritima 20(3/
there since (D. L. Felder, pers. comm.). This
4):119-123.
species apparently has also been transported Carlton, J. T, & A. N. Cohen. 1996. Episodic global
as a live food item sold in Asian-American dispersal in shallow water marine organisms:
markets (Horwath 1988, 1989). the case history o—f the European green crab
Carcinus maenas. Journal of Biogeography
(in press).
Acknowledgments , & J. B. Geller. 1993. Ecological roulette: the
global tr—ansport of nonindigenous marine or-
I thank Woody Lee, Smithsonian Marine ganisms. Science 261:78-82.
Station Link Port, Ft. Pierce, Florida, forhis Chopra, B. 1935. Further notes on Crustacea Decap-
invaluable help in trap building, navigation- oda in the Indian Museum. 8. On the decapod
Crustacea collected by the Bengal Pilot Survey
al guidance through the Indian River, and off the mouth of the River Hooghly. Br—achyg-
assistance during trips to the Station. For natha (Oxyrhynchaand Brachyrhyncha). Rec-
providing me with information on addition- ord ofthe Indian Museum 37:463-514.
al specimens of Charybdis hellerii found in Cohen, A. N., J. T. Carlton, & M. C. Fountain. 1995.
vtehresiItnydiaonfRSivoeurt,hwIetshtaenrknD.LoLu.isFiealndae,r L(aUfnai-- IctnhietsrcoogdrueBceatnyi,ocnr,CaadbliisCfpoaerrrncsiaialn.u—asndMmaapreoitnneaenstiBaiilnoilSmoapgnaycFtrs1a2n2o:-f
yette), and A. H. Hines, Jr., and R. B. Man- 225-237.
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Washington, D.C.). I am particularly grate- Biogeography in motion. Bulletin de I'lnstitut
ful to J. T Carlton (Williams College-Mys- oceanographique, Monaco, no. special 9:115-
123.
tic Seaport, Connecticut), and an anony- Gomez, O., & J. C. Martinez-Iglesias. 1990. Reciente
mous reviewer for extensive comments and hallazgo de la especie indopacffica Charybdis
up-to-date information that considerably helleri (A. Milne Edwards, 1867) (Crustacea:
—— ——
648 PROCEEDINGS OF THE BIOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF WASHINGTON
—
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