CRABS (BRACHYURA) OF THE GULF OF MEXICO

84 Lawrence W. Powers
tugas; west coast of Florida to south Texas; Campeche, Mexico; Venezuela;
Surinam.
Depth: surface to 88 m (to 48 fm), rarely deeper.
Habitat: mud, sand, and broken shell bottoms; usually in deeper off-shore
waters of Gulf coast and in deeper parts of near-shore marine passes, inlets, and
bays.
Remarks: Regional lists include Florida (Wass, 1955; Tabb and Manning,
1961; Rouse, 1970; Abele, 1970; Menzel, 1971), Mississippi (Richmond, 1968
Franks et al., 1972; Christmas and Langley, 1973), Louisiana (Dawson, 1966
Hoese and Valentine, 1972), Texas (Gunter, 1950; Hildebrand, 1954; Parker,
1959; Leary, 1967), and from the Gulf (Chace, 1956; Fotheringham and
Brunenmeister, 1975). Hildebrand (1954) reported this crab abundant at 6 to
10 fm at Campeche. Tabb and Manning (1961) found this crab feeding on concentrations
of cyprinodont fishes in Coot Bay, Florida. Musick and McEachran
(1972) listed it from Chesapeake Bight at depths of 18 to 49 m. Felder (1973a)
notes that this species is often found in association with P. spinimanus. Rathbun
(1930) reported ovigerous females from Florida in April; Williams (1965)
cites other ovigerous females from North Carolina to Surinam, from February
to June. Gray (1957) measured the gill area of this crab and compared it with
habitat preferences.
Porlunus ordwayi (Stimpson, 1860) (Ann. Lye. Nat. Hist. New York 7: 224)
Hay & Shore, 1918, p. 431, pi. 33, fig. 6; Rathbun, 1930, p. 71, pi. 33; Rathbun,
1933, p. 46; Chace, 1940, p. 31; Williams, 1965, p. 166, fig. 148.
Range: Massachusetts; North Carolina; Bermuda; Bahamas; southeast Florida;
Florida Keys and Dry Tortugas; west and northwest coasts of Florida; north
and south coasts of Cuba; Gulf and Caribbean coasts of Yucatan; Jamaica; Puerto
Rico; St. Thomas, Virgin Islands to Dominica; Old Providence Island (Carib.);
Para and Fernando de Noronha to Bahia, Brazil.
Depth: surface to 106 m (58 fm), rarely deeper.
Habitat: sand, gravel, broken shell, and coral substrates.
Remarks: Rathbun (1930) listed an ovigerous female from Florida in March.
Chace (1956) recorded this species from off northwest Florida. Listed from
Brazil by Coelho (1971a), Coelho and Ramos (1972), and Fausto Filho (1974).
Porlunus sayi (Gibbes, 1850) (Proc. Amer. Assoc. Adv. Sci., 3rd Meeting, 7:
178)
Common Name: Sargassum Crab
Hay & Shore, 1918, p. 428, pi. 33, fig. 2; Rathbun, 1930, p. 37, text-figs. 6-7, pi. 14;
Rathbun, 1933, p. 46, fig. 39; Chace, 1940, p. 31; Williams, 1965, p. 163, fig. 144;
Felder, 1973a, p. 59, pi. 8, fig. 12.
Range: Nova Scotia to south Florida; Bermuda; Bahamas; Florida Keys and
Dry Tortugas; west coast of Florida to south Texas; north and south coasts of
Cuba; Jamaica; Puerto Rico; St. Thomas, Virgin Islands; Trinidad; Guiana;
Brazil; in eastern Atlantic Ocean; off Kerguelon Island in the Indian Ocean.
Depth: pelagic, at surface.