HCNSO Student Theses and Dissertations

Copyright Statement

All rights reserved. This publication is intended for use solely by faculty, students, and staff of Nova Southeastern University. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, now known or later developed, including but not limited to photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the author or the publisher.

Defense Date

1987

Document Type

Thesis - NSU Access Only

Department

Oceanographic Center

First Advisor

Robert H. Gore

Second Advisor

Curtis Burney

Third Advisor

Richard Dodge

Abstract

Eurypanopeus depressus and Eurypanopeus dissimilis, two estuarine species of xanthid crabs, were raised under laboratory conditions. Four zoeal stages and one megalopal stage were observed in both species. The larvae of E. dissimilis have a longer intermolt period and grow to a larger size than E. depressus. E. dissimilis can be distinguished from E. depressus on the basis of three main features: 1) greater telson armature, 2) longer endopod in relation to the protopod of the antenna in the fourth zoeal stage, and 3) presence of the frontal horns on the carapace of the megalopa. Distinctions between larvae of E. dissimilis and Panopeus herbstii were negligible, except for the endopod of the maxilla in the megalopal stages. These results and others suggest that the current taxonomic placement of E. dissimilis may be incorrect and should be reassigned into the genus Panopeus.

Files over 10MB may be slow to open. For best results, right-click and select "Save as..."

To access this thesis/dissertation you must have a valid nova.edu OR mynsu.nova.edu email address and create an account for NSUWorks.

Free My Thesis

If you are the author of this work and would like to grant permission to make it openly accessible to all, please click the Free My Thesis button.

  Link to NovaCat

COinS