Callinectes marginatus

Callinectes marginatus
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Subphylum:	Crustacea
Class:	Malacostraca
Order:	Decapoda
Infraorder:	Brachyura
Family:	Portunidae
Genus:	Callinectes
Species:	C. marginatus
Binomial name
	Callinectes marginatus; (A. Milne-Edwards, 1861)
Synonyms [1]
	Callinectes diacanthus var. africanus A. Milne-Edwards, 1879; Callinectes larvatus Ordway, 1863; Neptunus marginatus A. Milne-Edwards, 1861;

Callinectes marginatus, known as the "sharptooth swimcrab" or "marbled swimcrab", is a species of swimming crab in the genus Callinectes.

Description

Its carapace bears nine spines behind each eye, the last of which is around twice the length of the previous one, making the whole carapace around 10 centimetres (3.9 in) wide.[2]

Distribution and ecology

Although the name Callinectes marginatus was used by Mary J. Rathbun and others to also cover animals now referred to the species C. larvatus and C. diacanthus, C. marginatus is now used only for a species found from the Cape Verde Islands and Nouadhibou, Mauritania to Angola.[3]

C. marginatus appears to be entirely marine, unlike some of its congeners, although there are records from the estuaries of the Congo River and the Hwini River.[3] The crabs dig holes around 30 cm (12 in) wide in mudflats.[4]

References

Peter Davie & Charles Fransen (2010). "Callinectes marginatus (A. Milne-Edwards, 1861)". World Register of Marine Species. Retrieved June 14, 2011.
Wolfgang Schneider (1990). "Portunidae: Swimming Crabs" (PDF). Field Guide to the Commercial Marine Resources of the Gulf of Guinea (PDF). Food and Agriculture Organization. pp. 186–188.
Raymond B. Manning & Lipke B. Holthuis (1981). "West African Brachyuran Crabs (Crustacea: Decapoda)". Smithsonian Contributions to Zoology. 306: 1–379. doi:10.5479/si.00810282.306.
B. B. P. A. van der Laan & Wim J. Wolff (2006). "Circular pools in the seagrass beds of the Banc d'Arguin, Mauritania, and their possible origin" (PDF). Aquatic Botany. 84: 93–100. doi:10.1016/j.aquabot.2005.07.009. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-07-24. Retrieved 2010-10-13.

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[1] Peter Davie & Charles Fransen (2010). "Callinectes marginatus (A. Milne-Edwards, 1861)". World Register of Marine Species. Retrieved June 14, 2011.

[2] Wolfgang Schneider (1990). "Portunidae: Swimming Crabs" (PDF). Field Guide to the Commercial Marine Resources of the Gulf of Guinea (PDF). Food and Agriculture Organization. pp. 186–188.

[Manning-3] Raymond B. Manning & Lipke B. Holthuis (1981). "West African Brachyuran Crabs (Crustacea: Decapoda)". Smithsonian Contributions to Zoology. 306: 1–379. doi:10.5479/si.00810282.306.

[4] B. B. P. A. van der Laan & Wim J. Wolff (2006). "Circular pools in the seagrass beds of the Banc d'Arguin, Mauritania, and their possible origin" (PDF). Aquatic Botany. 84: 93–100. doi:10.1016/j.aquabot.2005.07.009. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-07-24. Retrieved 2010-10-13.