JPR Advance Access originally published online on July 23, 2004
Journal of Plankton Research 2004 26(12):1389-1408; doi:10.1093/plankt/fbh127
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Journal of Plankton Research Vol. 26 No. 12 © Oxford University Press 2004; all rights reserved
Complete larval and early juvenile development of the mangrove crab Perisesarma fasciatum (Crustacea: Brachyura: Sesarmidae) from Singapore, with a larval comparison of Parasesarma and Perisesarma
1 Departament de Biologia Animal (ARTRÒPODES), Facultat de Biologia (U.B.), AV. Diagonal 645, 08028 Barcelona, Spain, 2 Alfred-Wegener-Institut für Polar- und Meeresforschung, Biologische Anstalt Helgoland, Meeresstation, 27498 Helgoland, Germany and 3 Biologie 1: Zoologie, Universität Regensburg, 93040 Regensburg, Germany
* Corresponding Author: gguerao{at}pie.xtec.es
Received January 22, 2004; accepted in principle June 2, 2004; accepted for publication July 13, 2004; published online July 23, 2004
The complete larval development of the sesarmid crab Perisesarma fasciatum (Lanchester, 1900) from Singapore was obtained from laboratory culture. All four zoeal stages, the megalopa and the first crab stage are described and illustrated. The morphological characteristics of the larvae of P. fasciatum are compared with those of other known larvae of the genera Perisesarma and Parasesarma. The larval morphology of P. fasciatum clearly presents the typical combination of features that characterize sesarmid larvae. Overall, larval stages are very similar in Perisesarma and Parasesarma and it is impossible to distinguish these two genera by larval morphology.