Munidopsis simplex ( A. Milne-Edwards, 1880 )

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 : 411

Munidopsis simplex ( A. Milne-Edwards, 1880)

Munidopsis simplex has previously been reported as Galathodes simplex and has a distribution from the Caribbean to North Carolina in depths of 458 to 1857 m ( Milne-Edwards 1880; Chace 1942; Barnard 1950; Baba et al. 2008). Specimens in this analysis were collected from Caribbean to the Gulf of Mexico in depths of 1000 to 3968 m; this represents a pronounced depth range extension (from USNM 150611). Specimens were collected in February, March, June through September, November, and December. Ovigerous specimens were collected only in June, July, and August suggesting that reproduction is seasonal for this species ( Fig. 15 ). Twenty-two males were measured (CW from 4.3 to 6.8 mm), 11 non-ovigerous females (CW from 4.6 to 7.6 mm), and 16 ovigerous females (CW from 6.0 to 9.1 mm). Females were significantly larger than males (t-test, df = 47, t = 4.407, p<0.001); ovigerous females were significantly larger than non-ovigerous females (t-test, df = 25, t = -3.462, p = 0.002). Females (n = 14) had between one and 22 eggs and average egg diameter was between 1.15 mm and 1.67 mm. Fecundity was not correlated with CW for M. simplex (R2 = 0.180, p = 0.131) nor was average egg size correlated with CW (R2 = 0.121, p = 0.223).

Figures

FIGURE 15. Number of specimens of Munidopsis simplex (A. Milne-Edwards, 1880) collected for each month. Gray bars are males, white bars are females, and black bars are ovigerous females.