WILLIAMS: CRABS OF THE GENUS CALLINECTES 



Ghana where the species abounds on muddy 

 bottoms. Crosnier (1964, and pers. data) and a 

 number of others listed the depth range as 0-35 m 

 in warm water. 



Callinectes latimanus is preyed upon by 

 Galeoides decadactylus Bloch and Pomadasys 

 jubelini Cuvier (Longhurst, 19bl) , and Callinectes 

 sp. [probably latimanus] by Dasyatus margarita 

 Gunther and Caranx alexandrinus Cuvier and 

 Valenciennes (Monod,.1927). 



Spawning. — In all museum material available 

 to me only four collections that are dated contain 

 ovigerous females: January-February, Ivory 

 Coast; May, Senegal, Nigeria; October, Togo. 

 In the warm West African region it is likely that 

 spawning occurs the year round, but may be con- 

 centrated at seasonal peaks. 



Economic importance . — There is no literature 

 on strictly commercial aspects of a fishery for this 

 species, but it is important as food in coastal 

 communities. Rathbun ( 1900a) recounted an early 

 report that the crab was found only in fresh water 

 of rivers, and much sought after for the exception- 

 ally good meat. Monod (1927) listed C. latimanus 

 as common in the Cameroons and customarily 

 eaten there. Gruvel (1912) wrote that it is ex- 

 tremely abundant along the coast from Senegal to 

 Angola, and so much so in certain areas such as 

 the Ivory Coast, Dahomey, etc., that the people 

 there brought large basketfulls alive to the mar- 

 kets to be either boiled in water or fried in palm 

 oil. He regarded the crabs as extremely tasty and 

 therefore subjects for a fishery, at least from 

 Senegal to the Cameroons, where they were cap- 

 tured around lagoons and among mangroves in 

 brackish water, generally on mud bottom, by 

 means of small seines, baited traps, or fishing 

 lines. Irvine (1947) listed similar fishing methods 

 and considered the crabs quite edible, while Ros- 

 signol (1957, 1962) considered this crab the most 

 abundant in the genus, subject to a regular fishery 

 by native peoples in estuaries and lagoons, and 

 although acceptable, not always so savory as 

 Portunus validus Herklots. 



Remarks. — The syntype male in the USNM 

 (19877) is a mature specimen with first gonopods 

 extending beyond the telson, a quite sharply 

 granulate carapace with acute anterolateral teeth 

 (especially from the fourth tooth laterad), and a 

 left chela with strong proximal tooth on the dactyl 



heavier than the right, but it is a poor specimen 

 because both chelipeds are detached from the body 

 and parts of other legs are detached or missing. 

 The series of syntypes in the BMNH (9J. 4. 1.63/69) 

 is in much better condition, consisting of two 

 mature and two immature males, and one mature 

 and two immature females. The largest male is 

 the most perfect specimen, and the first gonopods 

 on it exceed the tip of the telson. 



The early confusion of this species with the 

 American C. bocourti is easy to understand be- 

 cause each is described comparatively in terms of 

 the other, the relationships being obviously close. 



Material. — Total: 39 lots, 116 specimens. 



USNM. 9 lots, 16 specimens. 



SENEGAL 



18735, no date, 1 5 juv, from Mus. Nat. Hist., 

 Paris. 



LIBERIA 



123087, Robertsport, Grand Cape Mount Co., 28 

 Dec. 1947, 1 9, J. T. Baldwin, Jr. 



NIGERIA 



120943, Lagos, 06°28'N, 03°23'E, 10 May 1965, 

 1 9,Pillsbury. Lagos, Guinea [= Nigeria], no date, 

 1 6, A. Molony, (Type). 



ANNOBON ISLAND 



120944, 01°24'S,05°37'E, 20 May 1965, 2^,2 

 inv,Pillsbury, Stn. 281. 



ZAIRE 



54253, 54254, 54310, Banana, mouth of Congo 

 River, July- Aug. 1915, 5 ^ , 2 9 , H. Lang. 



AMNH. 6 lots, 15 specimens. 



ZAIRE 



3326, no date, 1 <5 , Congo Exped. 3110, 3111, 

 3112, 3417, Banana, July-Aug. 1915, 7 5(1 dry), 4 

 9 (1 juv), H. Lang and J. Chapin. 



ANGOLA [?] 



5895, 1925, 2 9, Vernay Angola Exped. 



BMNH. 6 lots, 17 specimens. 



SIERRA LEONE 



1916.6.23.1/2, Gbanbama, 1 5, 1 9, N. W. 

 Thomas. 1922.9.13.6/7, Sherbo I., 2 9, C. H. Allan. 



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