Biometric relationships of the spotted lobster,Panulirus echinatus, from Tamandaré coastal reefs, Pernambuco State, Brazil

Abstract

Biometric relationships were recorded for 2431 male and female Panulirus echinatus sampled at Tamandaré coastal reefs, Pernambuco, Brazil. The following body measurements were taken: carapace length and width, abdomen length and width, total length, third and fifth pereiopod length, cephalothorax–abdomen and total weight. Twelve relationships were studied to compare the biometric characteristics of males and females. Eleven of them showed difference between the sexes. Comparing sexes with the same carapace length, males have a heavier cephalothorax and longer third and fifth pereiopods than females, whereas females are longer, wider, and have a heavier abdomen than males. For genders with the same total length, males are heavier and have a longer carapace than females, while females have a larger abdomen. For genders with the same abdomen length, males have a heavier abdomen than females. The relationships TWg/TL and AWg/AL showed positive allometric growth for the males. All other relationships involving weight, presented negative allometric growth for both sexes.

Reconstruction of Marine Commercial Landings for the Brazilian Industrial and Artisanal Fisheries From 1950 to 2015

“…Both P. argus and P. laevicauda were considered "nearly threatened" (Santana et al, 2016), but are considered data deficient in the IUCN red list. Although Panulirus echinatus started to be caught after the decline of these two species (Barreto et al, 2009), it did not show up in the reconstructed database. Indeed, even though Santana et al (2016) considered that the main threat to P. echinatus is overfishing, this species was considered "data deficient."…”