ABSTRACT
Here we provide an illustrated and annotated checklist of brachyuran crabs associated with shallow water marine habitats (nearshore rubble and subtidal) in Barbados, West Indies (13.1939°N, 59.5432°W). Twenty-one (21) survey sites in nearshore rubble and shallow subtidal habitats were surveyed between October 2018 to September 2021. Nearshore rubble habitats were surveyed at low tide during the day and night periods. Shallow nearshore subtidal habitats were surveyed every 9-12 days from February to October 2019 using crab traps placed ~ 4 m deep on sandy and rocky bottoms. A total of 1,640 specimens were recorded, belonging to nine (9) superfamilies, 14 families, 34 genera, and 44 species. The genera Charybdis De Haan, 1833, Pitho Bell, 1835, Thoe Bell, 1835, and Uhlias Stimpson, 1871 are here reported for the first time for Barbados. Thirteen (13) species are first records for Barbados, thus extending their geographic range. The most abundant and widespread species collected was Mithraculus coryphe Herbst, 1801, which accounted for 35% (N = 570) of the specimens, occurring in both nearshore rubble and subtidal habitats.
Subject(s)
Brachyura , Lice Infestations , Humans , Animals , Barbados , Water , West IndiesABSTRACT
Considering the growing threats to the biodiversity of small Caribbean islands (e.g., habitat loss and fragmentation, overexploitation, invasive species, and climate change), it is important to establish biodiversity inventories that serve as baselines for monitoring and evaluation of conservation efforts. In Barbados (West Indies), the most recent comprehensive taxonomic account of brachyuran crabs came from Rathbun (1921) reporting the specimens collected by the University of Iowa Barbados-Antigua Expedition in 1918. The present study fills the 100-year gap in knowledge by providing an updated taxonomic checklist of brachyuran crabs associated with semi-terrestrial and estuarine habitats in Barbados. A total of 245 specimens representing three superfamilies, six families, nine genera, and 13 species were collected over a period of 425 search-hours in twenty-seven sampling locations in semi-terrestrial and estuarine habitats of Barbados between September 2018 and November 2020. The families with the highest numbers of species identified were Gecarcinidae (3) and Portunidae (3), followed by Grapsidae (2), Sesarmidae (2), Ocypodidae (2), and Varunidae (1). The species Armases ricordi (H. Milne Edwards, 1853), Cyclograpsus integer H. Milne Edwards, 1837, and Callinectes sapidus Rathbun, 1896, are recorded here for the first time for Barbados.
