WILLIAMS: CRABS OF THE GENUS CALLINECTES 



CONGO 



2740, Pte. Indienne, env. de Point-Noire, 12 

 May 1964, 1 6, 1 9, A. Stauch. 2741, Pte. de 

 Tchitembc, 31 Dec. 1963, 1 9 (ov), A. Stauch. 2742, 

 W de Pointe-Noire, 1 c?, 1 9, A. Crosnier. 



Supplementary literature records. — Bermuda 

 (Verrill, 1908a); Veracruz, Mexico (Contreras, 

 1930); Aruba (de Man, 1883); Los Roques and La 

 Orchila, Venezuela (Chace, 1956); Barra das Jan- 

 gadas, S of Recife, Brazil (Coelho, 1966); near Rio 

 de Janeiro, Brazil (Oliveira, 1956); Ilha da Sao 

 Sebastiao, Brazil (Luederwaldt, 1929); Port 

 Etienne, Mauritania, and Apam, [Ghana], plus a 

 long list of localities duplicated in material ex- 

 amined and other literature (Monod, 1956); Cape 

 Verde Islands (2 localities), and Angola (3 

 localities) (Guinot and Ribeiro, 1962); Bissau, Por- 

 tuguese Guinea (Osorio, 1887, 1888, 1898); Gold 

 Coast (Buchanan, 1958); Sao Tome (Forest and 

 Guinot, 1966); Pointe Noire, Congo (Rossignol, 

 1962). 



CALLINECTES SIMILIS WILLIAMS 

 Lesser Blue Crab 



Figures 4, 18b, 20c, 22a, 24 



Callinectes ornatus.- Ordway, 1863, p. 572 (part, 

 the Texas specimen).- Rathbun, 1896, p. 356 

 (part).- 1930, p. 114 (part).- Hay and Shore, 

 1918, p. 433, pi. 34, fig. 2.- Contreras, 1930, 

 p. 231 (part), fig. 4 (?).- Pounds, 1961, p. 42, 

 pi. 7, fig. 2c.- Wilhams, 1965, p. 172, fig. 152. 



Callinectes danae.- Rathbun, 1930, p. 118 (part).- 

 Pounds, 1961, p. 42, pi. 7, fig. 2b. 



Callinectes similis Williams, 1966, p. 87, figs. 3, 

 4E, F (type: 5, USNM 113341, 2-3 mi off 

 beach between St. Johns River jetties and 

 Jacksonville Beach, Fla.). 



Description. — Carapace (Figure 4) with four 

 frontal teeth, submesial pair small but definitely 

 formed. Central trapezoidal (metagastric) area 

 short and wide, anterior width about 2.75 times 

 length, posterior width about 1.6-1.7 times length. 

 Anterolateral margins broadly arched; anterolat- 

 eral teeth exclusive of outer orbital and lateral 

 spine short and broad, tips of first five nearly rec- 

 tangular, sixth and especially seventh acuminate; 

 first five teeth with anterior margins shorter than 

 posterior and separated by narrow based rounded 



notches. Lateral spine strong, slender, and curved 

 forward. Surface of carapace even, lightly and 

 quite uniformly granulate except smooth along 

 posterolateral and posterior slopes, and nearly 

 smooth along anterolateral and anterior margins, 

 especially between teeth and along orbits; smooth 

 areas with tendency to iridescence. 



Chelipeds with very fine granulations on ridges; 

 carpus bearing two obsolescent granulate ridges 

 and suggestion of others, inferior lateral ridge 

 terminating anteriorly in a low tooth occasionally 

 followed by a low flattened eminence; chelae 

 strong, not greatly dissimilar in size. 



Male telson longer than wide; sixth segment of 

 abdomen slightly sinuous sided but broader at all 

 levels than telson, proximal half slightly con- 

 stricted laterally and less indurated than other 

 parts, flush with sternum in retracted position. 

 Mature female telson slightly wider than long. 

 First gonopods of male (Figures 18b, 20c) reaching 

 anteriorly two-thirds length of sternite VII, or 

 beyond; distal portion slender, extending straight 

 to tips curved slightly mesad, armed with scat- 

 tered minute retrogressive spinules, most dense 

 distally and laterally and largest distally. Gono- 

 pores of female (Figure 22a) narrowly ellipsoid 

 with long axis in transverse plane; aperture of 

 each with simple rounded borders except at mesial 

 end where it slopes from surface laterad under 

 superior anterior margin. 



Size of carapace in mm. — Largest male: length 

 55, width at base of lateral spines 97, including 

 lateral spines 122. Largest female: length 45, 

 width at base of lateral spines 76, including lateral 

 spines 95. Summary of selected measurements is 

 given in Tables 1 and 2. Franks et al. (1972) re- 

 ported an individual with carapace width of 171. 



Color. — Adult male: "Carapace green dorsally, 

 irregular areas of iridescence at bases of, and be- 

 tween, anterolateral teeth, and on posterior and 

 posterolateral borders. Chelipeds and portions of 

 legs similar in color or more tannish green dor- 

 sally, with iridescent areas on outer and upper 

 edges of carpus and hands; chelae white on outer 

 face, blue to fuchsia on inner surface, with fuchsia 

 on tips of fingers and teeth of opposed edges. Lat- 

 eral spines and some anterolateral teeth, as well 

 as spines on chelipeds, white tipped. Walking legs 

 grading from fuchsia distally through violet blue 

 to light blue mottled with white proximally, 



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