CRABS (BRACHYURA) OF THE GULF OF MEXICO

Crabs of the Gulf of Mexico 77
species is questionable. Felder (1973a) includes this species in his key for the
northwestern Gulf on the basis of the same specimen. Beports of this crab in
southern Florida are provided by Futch (1965) and Park (1969). Norse (1972)
noted habitat preferences in Jamaica. Listed from Brazil by Coelho and Bamos
(1972).
Callinecles marginalus (A. Milne Edwards, 1861) (Arch. Mus. Hist. Nat., Paris
10: 318)
Rathbun, 1930, p. 123, figs. 15e, 16cl, IZd, 18c, pi. 53; Contreras, 1930, p. 235, fig. 6;
Rathbun, 1933, p. 49; Chace & Hobbs, 1969, p. 131, fig. 37d; Felder, 1973a, p. 59,
pi. 8, fig. 9; Williams, 1974a, p. 722, figs. 3, 18b (not 18a), 20a, 22b, 27.
Bange: North Carolina; Bermuda; Bahamas; southeast Florida; Florida Keys
and Dry Tortugas; southwest Florida; Louisiana (rare); Vera Cruz to Yucatan,
Mexico; north and south coasts of Cuba; Jamaica; Hispaniola; Puerto Bico; St.
Croix to Grenadines; Tobago and Trinidad; Netherlands Antilles; Yucatan to
Panama; Colombia to Sao Paulo, Brazil; in eastern Atlantic—Senegal to Angola;
Mauritania; Cape Verde Islands.
Depth: intertidal to 15 m, rarely to 25 m (to 14 fm).
Habitat: shallow water on sand and mud fiats; edges of mangrove swamps;
grass flats, oyster bars, and rocky pools; often in brackish water, rarely in open
marine water.
Bemarks: The records from North Carolina and Louisiana are extralimital
occurrences. Behre (1950) listed this crab as a common component of the Sargassum
community in Louisiana waters, but Felder (1973a) commented that
this species is by no means common and that Behre probably confused it with
Portunus sayi. Williams (1974a) reports spawning records throughout the range
of this crab, from December to July. Norse (1972) noted habitat preferences in
Jamaica. Listed from Brazil by Coelho and Bamos (1972) and from West Africa
by Forest and Guinot (1966).
Callinecles ornalus Ordway, 1863 (J. Boston Soc. Nat. Hist. 7: 571)
Rathbun, 1930, p. 114 (part), text-figs. 15b, 16a, 17a, 18b, pi. 50; Contreras, 1930,
p. 232 (part), fig. 4; Rathbun, 1933, p. 48, fig. 40; Chace, 1940, p. 33; Chace &
Hobbs, 1969, p. 132, fig. 37e; Holthuis, 1959, p. 200; Williams, 1965, p. 172 (part);
Wilfiams, 1966, p. 84, figs. lA-B, 4A-B; Williams, 1974a, p. 739, figs. 6, I8d, 20d,
22d, 25.
Bange: Bermuda; Bahamas; North Carolina to south Florida; Florida Keys and
Dry Tortugas; west Florida to Tampa Bay; Gulf coast of Yucatan; north and
south coasts of Cuba; Jamaica; Hispaniola; Puerto Bico; St. Croix to Barbados;
Trinidad; Netherlands Antilles; Caribbean coast of Yucatan to Belize; Colombia
to Santa Catarina, Brazil.
Depth: shore to 75 m (41 fm).
Habitat: sand, mud, shell substrates; off sponges; near river mouths and bays;
in fresh waters, but more common in waters of moderate salinities (Williams,
1974a).
Bemarks: As with many portunids, juveniles of this species may be difficult
to distinguish from others, especially those of C. danae and C. similis. Becords