CRABS (BRACHYURA) OF THE GULF OF MEXICO

Crabs of the Gulf of Mexico 137
74; Chace, 1940, p. 52; Williams, 1965, p. 220, fig. 204; Turkay, 1975, p. 114, figs.
6^7, 16b, 20, 24.
Range: North and South Carolina; south Florida; north and south coasts of
Cuba; St. Lucia; Barbados; Colombia to Venezuela.
Depth: 31 to 508 m (17 to 278 fm).
Habitat: rocky, coral, and sand substrates.
Remarks: Listed from off the Carolines by Cerame-Vivas, Williams and Gray
(1963) and Cerame-Vivas and Gray (1966). Williams (1965) listed ovigerous
females from Florida in March to September. Recorded off the Atlantic coast
of Cuba by Chace (1956). The Pacific specimens listed by Garth (1946) were
referred to a new species, E. pacificus, and the specimen (USNM 17672) listed
by Rathbun (1918) from off Yucatan was referred to a new species, E. antillensis,
byTiirkay (1975).
Euchirograpsus antillensis Tiirkay, 1975 (Senckenbergiana Biol. 56: 112)
As E. aniericanus—Rathbun, 1918, p. 283 (part, Yucatan specimen only).
As E. antiffensis—TiJrkay, 1975, p. 112, figs 4-5,16a, 19, 2S.
Range: off Havana, Cuba; Arrowsmith Banks, between Cuba and Yucatan;
south of Florida Keys; Bahamas.
Depth: 192to430m(105lo235fm).
Remarks: Tiirkay (1975) compared this new species with E. americanus and
the other species of the genus, which now number a total of six.
Plalychirograpsus de Man, 1896
Plalychirograpsus speclahilis de Man, 1896 (Zool. Anz. 19: 292)
Common Names: River Crab; Saber Crab
As P. lypicujs—Rathbun, 1918, p. 278, text-figs. 141-143, pi. 73; Bolivar y Pieltain,
1945, p. 267-270, figs. 1-5.
As P. specln6i7f.«—Buitendijk, 1950, p. 280, fig. lb; Monod, 1956, p. 426, text-figs.
584-588.
Range: Gulf coast of Mexico; west coast of Florida.
Habitat: burrows in clay banks, just above the water line, along rivers; shallow
rocky areas of rivers; known from altitudes of greater than 100 feet, up to
140 miles from the sea.
Remarks: This species was described on the basis of only a few specimens, all
from Ttibasco, Mexico. Marchand (1946) discovered a large population of these
crabs along the Hillsborough River in west Florida, which empties into the Gulf
near Tampa. These crabs were found to have originated in Mexico from where
they were transported on logs and in lumber for Tampa, beginning about 1915.
Marchand (1946) provided notes on ecology, behavior, and feeding habits of the
west Florida populations, under the name P. typicus. Buitendijk (1950) determined
this latter name to be a junior synonym of P. specLabilis.
Plalychirograpsus typicus Rathbun, 1914.
Determined b}^ Buitendijk (1950) to be a junior synon3'^m of P. spectabilis
deMan, 1896.