Eumunida picta Smith, 1883

Kilgour, Morgan J. & Shirley, Thomas C., 2014, Reproductive biology of galatheoid and chirostyloid (Crustacea: Decapoda) squat lobsters from the Gulf of Mexico, Zootaxa 3754 (4), pp. 381-419 : 389

Eumunida picta Smith, 1883

Eumunida picta was the third most common species of chirostyloid in collections; this number may drastically under-represent the commonness of the species. This species has been collected throughout the Gulf of Mexico, the Caribbean Sea, and it is found from Nova Scotia to Colombia from depths of 200 to 600 m ( Baba et al. 2008). Eumunida picta is abundant on hard substrates in the Gulf of Mexico (personal observations) but is poorly represented in collections. Eumunida picta was collected throughout the year, but specimens were absent for the months of February, April, July, November, and December ( Fig. 3 E). A total of 22 individuals was observed, 21 were measured, including eleven males, six females, and five ovigerous females. Male carapace widths ranged from 11.7 to 46.1 mm. Female CWs ranged from 3.7 to 43.8 mm. Ovigerous female CWs ranged from 23.8 to 45.4 mm. Ovigerous females were only collected in March and October ( Fig. 3 E), but because of the small sample size, it cannot be positively stated if this indicates biannual reproductive timing. Non-ovigerous females were collected in May, June, and July indicating biannual reproduction might occur. The numbers of eggs for ovigerous females ranged from 383 to 14,277, and fecundity of squat lobsters was correlated with squat lobster size (CW) (R2 = 0.84, p = 0.028) ( Fig. 4 B). However, egg diameter was not correlated with size, and the average egg diameters ranged from 0.43 to 0.52 mm. Carapace widths of non-ovigerous and ovigerous females were not significantly different (ttest, df = 9, t = -1.287, p = 0.230), nor were males and females significantly different in size (t-test, df = 20, t = 0.519, p = 0.610). These results are consistent with previously published reports ( Wenner 1982).

Figures

FIGURE 3. Number of specimens of each species collected for each month. Gray bars are males, white bars are females, and black bars are ovigerous females.

FIGURE 4. Linear regression of carapace width and the number of eggs for Gastroptychus spinifer (A. Milne-Edwards, 1880) (A), Eumunida picta Smith, 1883 (B), Munida flinti Benedict, 1902 (C), Munida forceps A. Milne-Edwards, 1880 (D), Munida miles A. Milne-Edwards, 1880 (E), and Munida pusilla Benedict, 1902 (F). Black dashed lines are the 95 % confidence interval. Dotted lines are 95 % prediction intervals.