WILLIAMS: CRABS OF THE GENUS CALLINECTES 



perature of surface water in the Golfo de Vene- 

 zuela is less than in the Lake (28.6°C in October 

 and 25.9°C in February were recorded by Taissoun 

 (1972)). 



Spawning. — Adaptation to the Lake environ- 

 ment is shown by spawning habits. Ovigerous C. 

 maracaiboensis were occasionally taken in Bahia 

 del Tablazo and Estrecho de Maracaibo from April 

 to August where salinity ranged from 3.15 to 

 15.13^0. Ovigerous female C. bocourti were usu- 

 ally found in the Golfo de Venezuela where salin- 

 ity varied between 23.9 and 34.6%o, and only 

 occasionally in the fresher Bahia del Tablazo. 



Economic importance . — A developing fishery in 

 the Lago de Maracaibo region employing crab 

 traps concentrates chiefly on C. sapidus, but 

 includes C. maracaiboensis and C. bocourti. 



Remarks . — Recognition of this new species from 

 a restricted geographic range comes as some 

 surprise in view of the broader distribution of 

 other members of the genus. There is no doubt that 

 C. bocourti, maracaiboensis, and rathbunae are 

 very closely related, the widely ranging bocourti 

 probably being the parent stock from which the 

 isolates in peripheral areas have evolved. 

 Callinectes maracaiboensis and rathbunae are 

 similar in having somewhat less robust bodies 

 than bocourti, smaller, sharper, outwardly di- 

 rected anterolateral teeth and, in adults, more 

 acuminate frontal teeth. In this regard, 

 Taissoun 's (1972:10) outlined median saggital 

 sections of the three species do not seem to 

 represent the average. Shape of abdomen in adult 

 females is another useful character, that of C. 

 maracaiboensis being somewhat smaller, having 

 a sixth segment short and evenly rounded on the 

 distal edge, but narrower than in rathbunae. 

 Typically mature C. bocourti females have a 

 relatively smaller abdomen than either of the 

 others, with the distal edge of the sixth segment 

 being somewhat angular distolaterally rather 

 than broadly rounded. 



Taissoun (1972) marshalled evidence for es- 

 tuarine adaptations in C. maracaiboensis, which 

 apparently parallels similar trends in engraulid 

 fishes, the whole process presumably being as- 

 sociated with isolation of the Lake accompanying 

 fall in sea level during the Pleistocene. The 

 habitat of this species suggests interesting com- 

 parative experiments on larval development of a 



form adapted to living in lowered salinity 

 throughout life as contrasted with the other more 

 catadromous species of the genus. 



Material. — Total: 4 lots, 16 specimens. 



USNM 



VENEZUELA 



139621, Lago de Maracaibo, 19 July 1970, 1 5, 1 

 $ (Paratypes), E. Taissoun. 143392, Lago de 

 Maracaibo, no date, 5 <? , 1 9 , E. Taissoun. 143391, 

 Lago de Maracaibo, 23 June 1972, 5 5, 1 9, E. 

 Taissoun. 143393 Puerto Caballo, Maracaibo, 

 Lago de Maracaibo, 17 June 1968, I $ , 1 9, E. 

 Taissoun. 



CALLINECTES LATIMANUS 

 RATHBUN 



Figures 15, 19c, 20p, 23a, 27 



Callinectes bocourti.- Rathbun, 1896, p. 362 (part), 

 fide Rathbun, 1921.- 1897, p. 151 (part), 

 fide Rathbun, 1921.- 1900a, p. 290.- Balss, 

 1921, p. 58. 



Callinectes latimanus Rathbun, 1897, p. 151, 

 text-figs. 6-8 (syntypes: 4<5 , 3 9, BMNH 

 91.4.1.63/69; 1 ?, , USNM 19877; Lagos, 

 Bight of Benin, Guinea [Nigeria], A. Molo- 

 ny).- 1900a, p. 291.- 1921, p. 398, text-fig. 4, 

 pi. XV, fig. 2, pi. XXL pl. XXII, fig. 1.- 

 Odhner, 1923, p. 22.- Monod, 1927, p. 606.- 

 1956, p. 211, figs. 240- 243.- Irvine, 1947, p. 

 297, fig. 202 [?].- Vilela, 1949, p. 58.- Capart, 

 1951, p. 132, fig. 47.- Rossignol, 1957, p. 82.- 

 1962, p. 1 16.- Forest and Guinot, 1966, p. 65. 



Neptunus marginatus var. truncata Aurivillius, 

 1898, p. 5, pl. 1, figs. 1-4 (type: 1 immature 9 

 [not $], fide Rathbun, 1921, Cameroon). 



Callinectes diacanthus var. africanus .- A. Milne 

 Edwards and Bouvier, 1900, p. 71 (not col. 

 pl. 4, fig. 5 = C. sapidus).- Lenz, 1910, p. 125 

 [5].- Gruvel, 1912, p. 3, 6, pl. 2, fig. 1. 



Callinectes marginatus .- Odhner, 1923, p. 21. 



Callanectes Sp. (?).- Irvine, 1932, p. 14, fig. 13. 



Description. — Carapace (Figure 15) bearing 

 four frontal teeth with variably rounded tips, 

 submesial pair shorter than lateral pair. Metagas- 

 tric area with length approximately equal to 

 posterior width, anterior width about 2 times 

 length. Anterolateral margins moderately 



775 



