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CRABS (BRACHYURA) OF THE GULF OF MEXICO

CRABS (BRACHYURA) OF THE GULF OF MEXICO

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56 Lawrence W. Powers<br />

Mithrax (Milhraculus) sculptus (Lamarck, 1818) (Hist. Anim. sans Vert., A^ol.<br />

5, p. 242)<br />

Rathbun, 1923, p. 422, text-figs. 123-126, pi. 132; Rathbun, 1933, p. 31.<br />

Range: Bahamas; southeast Florida; Florida Keys and Dry Tortugas; north<br />

coast of Cuba; Jamaica; Puerto Rico; St. Thomas, Virgin Islands; Antigua; Barbados;<br />

Swan Island and Old Providence Island (Carib.); Belize; Curagao; Rio<br />

Grande do Norte to Bahia, Brazil.<br />

Depth: shallow water to 55 m (to 30 fm).<br />

Habitat: abundant on coral reefs; under stones at low tide; on sand, shell, grass,<br />

and mud bottoms.<br />

Remarks: Hartnoll (1965a) provides data on the biology and growth of this<br />

crab in Jamaica. Listed from Brazil by Coelho and Ramos (1972) and by Fausto<br />

Filho (1974).<br />

Subgenus Mithrax Desmarest, 1823<br />

Mithrax (Mithrax) acuticornis Stimpson, 1871 (Bull. MILS. Comp. Zool. 2: 116)<br />

Rathbun, 1925, p. 388, pi. 136, figs. 1-2, pi. 257, fig. 1; Rathbun, 1933, p. 29, fig. 28;<br />

Felder, 1973a, p. 32, pi. 7, fig. 10.<br />

Range: southeast coast of Florida; Florida Keys and Straits; Dry Tortugas;<br />

west and northwest coasts of Florida; off Texas; north and east coasts of Yucatan,<br />

Mexico; Puerto Rico; Santa Cruz to Grenadines in the Lesser Antilles; Amapa<br />

to Espirito Santo, Brazil.<br />

Depth: Iltol03m(6to56fm).<br />

Habitat: sand, mud, broken shell, rock, and coral substrates.<br />

Remarks: Rathbun (1925) compared this species with the young of M.<br />

cornutus and M. spinosissimus, with which it can be confused. Felder (1973a)<br />

provided the first northwestern Gulf of Mexico records, based on specimens collected<br />

off Galveston and Port Mansfield, Texas. Listed from Brazil by Coelho<br />

(1971a, 1971c) and Coelho and Ramos (1972).<br />

Mithrax (Mithrax) cornutus Saussure, 1857 (Rev. Mag. Zool., ser. 2, 9: 501)<br />

Common Names: Coral Crab; Red Spider Crab<br />

Rathbun, 1923, p. 386, pi. 137, figs. 3-4, pi. 236.<br />

Range: Bermuda; Florida Straits; north coast of Cuba; between Jamaica and<br />

Haiti; Dominica; Martinique; off Bahia, Brazil.<br />

Depth: shallow water to 1077 m (589 fm).<br />

Habitat: coral, sand, and broken shell bottoms.<br />

Remarks: Listed by Chace (1956) from the Gulf of Mexico.<br />

Mithrax (Mithrax) hispidus (Herbst, 1790) (Natur. Krabben u. Krebse, vol. 1,<br />

p. 245 (not p. 247)).<br />

Common Name: Coral Crab<br />

Rathbun, 1925, p. 406, text-fig. 124, pis. 143-146, pi. 147, fig. 3; Rathbun, 1933,<br />

p. 30; Williams, 1963, p. 236, figs. 236, 243C; Pequegnat & Ray, 1974, p. 236,<br />

figs. 5-10.

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