Callinectes arcuatus is a species of swimming crab in the genus Callinectes that lives along the Pacific coast of Central America.
| Callinectes arcuatus | |
|---|---|
| |
| Callinectes arcuatus in the Gulf of California | |
Scientific classification 
| |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Malacostraca |
| Order: | Decapoda |
| Suborder: | Pleocyemata |
| Infraorder: | Brachyura |
| Family: | Portunidae |
| Genus: | Callinectes |
| Species: | C. arcuatus
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| Binomial name | |
| Callinectes arcuatus Ordway, 1863
| |
Distribution and ecology edit
C. arcuatus is found along the Pacific coast of North and Central America from Mexico southwards.[1] Its diet comprises fish, molluscs, shrimp and plant matter.[2] Occasionally, populations become established in bays in southern California, which are thought to represent single cohorts transported as larvae; these populations typically die out within a few years.[1]
Fishery edit
A small fishery for this species is carried out in Costa Rica, run by 10–15 fishermen in the Golfo de Nicoya.[3] The fishery is subject to a maximum of 1600 traps, but the size of caught males was already decreasing in 2009, and the market appeared to be saturated.[3]
Taxonomy edit
Callinectes arcuatus was described in 1863 by Albert Ordway in his monograph of the genus Callinectes, using material collected at Cape St. Lucas.[4]
References edit
- ^ a b Edwin Grosholz (2011). "Crabs". In Daniel Simberloff & Marcel Rejmánek (ed.). Encyclopedia of Biological Invasions. Encyclopedias of the Natural World. University of California Press. pp. 125–128. ISBN 978-0-520-26421-2.
- ^ J. R. Cantera & J. F. Blanco (2001). "The estuary ecosystem of Buenaventura Bay, Colombia". In Ulrich Seeliger & Björn Kjerfve (ed.). Coastal Marine Ecosystems of Latin America. Ecological Studies: Analysis and Synthesis. Vol. 144. Springer. pp. 265–280. ISBN 978-3-540-67228-9.
- ^ a b Jorge Cortés & Ingo S. Wehrtmann (2009). "Diversity of marine habitats of the Caribbean and Pacific of Costa Rica". In Ingo S. Wehrtmann & Jorge Cortés (ed.). Marine Biodiversity of Costa Rica, Central America. Monographiae Biologicae. Vol. 86. Springer. pp. 1–45. ISBN 978-1-4020-8277-1.
- ^ Albert Ordway (1863). "Monograph of the genus Callinectes". Boston Journal of Natural History. 7: 567–583.
External links edit
- Farid A. Tabash. "Assessment and ecological characterization of the blue crab (jaiba, Callinectes arcuatus) in the Gulf of Nicoya, Costa Rica". UNA-LUW Program in Aquatic Sciences. Universidad Nacional. Archived from the original on 2007-01-03.