With 24 Text-figures and 2 TablesPrevious knowledge of the larval development in dorippid species was summarized by Rice (1980a); all accounts cited by Rice were based entirely on planktonic material. Subsequently an account was published by Terada (1981) who could rear three dorippids (subfamily Dorippinae) through all their zoeal stages. Apart from a brief description of a megalopal stage given by Gilet (1952), there are at present no reports on the early postlarval stages of dorippid crabs. For the present study I could obtain live material of later zoeas of dorippid species which successfully moulted, under laboratory conditions, to the megalopa and subsequently to the first crab stage.The present paper supplements the previous descriptions of dorippid zoeal stages (Aikawa, 1937;Gilet, 1952;Kurata, 1964;Terada, 1981) by adding details of all appendage structures and scanning electron microscope (SEM) observations, based upon specimens reared in the laboratory. For the first time, it provides observations on the megalopa and first crab stages of three dorippid species of the subfamily Dorippinae inhabiting Japanese waters. A remarkable behaviour exhibited by the megalopa and first crab stages in the laboratory is described and its ecological implications are discussed. Moreover, additional observations on morphological characters of adults of the genera Dorippe, Nobilum and Paradorippe are provided.
Materials and MethodsThe methodology used in this work, including the SEM preparation, is basically the same as that indicated in a previous paper (Quintana, 1986). Later zoeal stages of dorippids were obtained alive from Tosa Bay, Shikoku Island, and maintained in the laboratory in individual compartments. At 28.5-29.7°C water temperature and 33.0-33.4 ppt salinity, the larvae successfully moulted to the megalopa and further to the first crab. The names used herein for the present three dorippid species follow the most recent papers on taxonomy within this group, as those of Manning & Holthuis (1981, 1986 and Holthuis & Manning (1985). The Japanese and scientific names given by Sakai (1976) 1) Paper presented in the 23rd Annual Meeting of the Japanese Society
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