Contribution to the knowledge of the deep brachyuran fauna (Crustacea: Decapoda) in waters off Mauritania (NW Africa)

Abstract

Four multidisciplinary oceanographic surveys were conducted in November and December from 2007 to 2010, along the Mauritanian coast (NW Africa). A total of 10,514 brachyuran crabs belonging to 33 species were captured in 316 hauls at depths between 79 and 1867 m. The most specious family was Inachidae represented by nine species; the remaining 24 species belonged to 16 other brachyuran families.Monodaeus cristulatusis reported for the first time since its original description. Seven other species,Ethusa rugulosa, Pseudomyra mbizi, Inachus grallator, Macropodia gilsoni, Macropodia hesperiae, Solenolambrus noordendeiandSpinolambrus notialisextend their range of distribution northwards and, together withGoneplax barnardi, are reported here for the first time in Mauritanian waters. New data about depth ranges are reported forAcanthocarpus brevispinis, Ethusa rugulosa, Inachus aguiarii, Inachus grallator, Inachus nanus, Macropodia macrocheles, Solenolambrus noordendei, Spinolambrus notialis, Liocarcinus corrugatusandMonodaeus cristulatus. New data relating to the spawning period for most of the species are also included, as are some biogeographic and bathymetric considerations about brachyurans studied in the area.

Distolambrus maltzami (Miers, 1881) (Brachyura: Parthenopidae) with observed and modelled distribution in the North-east Atlantic

“…–Marco-Herrero et al ., 2015: 5.– Grimes et al ., 2016: 390. – De Matos-Pita et al ., 2017: 1292. – González et al ., 2017: 143.…”

“…Eastern Atlantic: Celtic Sea (this study); Bay of Biscay (Milne-Edwards & Bouvier, 1894; Caullery, 1896; Lagardere, 1973); Cantabrian Sea (Serrano et al ., 2006); Galician coast (González-Gurriarán & Méndez, 1985); Azores (Miers, 1881; Fransen, 1991); Canary Islands (Fransen, 1991; González-Pérez, 1995; González, 2018); Cape Verde Islands (Milne-Edwards & Bouvier, 1900; Fransen, 1991); off Western Sahara (Anadón, 1981); Mauritania (Anadón, 1981; Fransen, 1991; De Matos-Pita et al ., 2017); Gulf of Guinea (Henriksen, 2009); off Republic of the Congo (Balss, 1921; Rossignol, 1962). Seemingly no confirmed records from Portugal (Nobre, 1931; Marco-Herrero et al ., 2015), though it has been found in adjacent waters to the north and south.…”

“…Most of the tropical and subtropical records from West Africa have tended to be from relatively shallow waters, from the sublittoral to 100 m (Manning & Holthuis, 1981), but sometimes as deep as 347 m, off the Cape Verde Islands (Milne-Edwards & Bouvier, 1900). Recent records give a more extensive depth range of 22–550 m (De Matos-Pita et al ., 2017) with a trend for relatively shallow <100 m depth records (Massi et al ., 2010; Santin et al ., 2021) but also includes specimens from as deep as 412 m (Massutí et al ., 2021). This crab has been reported from a range of seabed types, including shell debris, shelly sand, sand, muddy sand, mud, calcareous algae, coral and rock (Pesta, 1918; Manning & Holthuis, 1981).…”

“…Distolambrus maltzami has a very wide geographic distribution in the Eastern Atlantic Ocean and Mediterranean. Originally described from Gorée Island, Senegal from depths of 18–28 m (Miers, 1881), the species has been found along the western coast of Sub-Saharan Africa, extending from the Republic of Congo (Balss, 1921) to Mauritania (Manning & Holthuis, 1981; De Matos-Pita et al ., 2017); and around the Cape Verde (Milne-Edwards & Bouvier, 1894) and Azores archipelagos (Ortmann, 1894). In the same year as Miers' discovery off Western Africa, another putative Heterocrypta species, Heterocrypta marioni (Milne-Edwards, 1881, 1882) was recorded in the Mediterranean, south of Toulon, France, at a depth of 455 m (Milne-Edwards, 1881).…”

A new subfamily classification of the highly diversified Dorippidae H. Milne Edwards, 1837 (Crustacea, Decapoda, Brachyura, Dorippoidea), using morphological, molecular and palaeotonlogical data, with special emphasis on its unique female reproductive system

“…Medorippe lanata inhabits the Eastern Atlantic, from Portugal to Angola (Crosnier 1970; Muñoz et al 2012) and South Africa, and the Mediterranean Sea (Modena et al 2001; Abelló et al 2002; Biagi et al 2002; Pipitone & Arculeo 2003; Zenetos et al 2005; Fanelli et al 2007; El Lakhrach et al 2012), including the Israel Coast (Galil & Shlagman 2010) and the Adriatic Sea (d'Udekem d'Acoz 1994; Artüz 2007; Çelik et al 2007; Kocataş & Katağan 2007, Ungaro et al 2005). It is a neritic species that may be found in rather deep waters to about 100 m, even 112 m in Mauritania (De Matos-Pita et al 2017), the depth of 952-1038 m off Morocco given by Türkay (1976: 36) being far in excess (Manning & Holthuis 1981: 34); preferently on soft sandy bottoms (Balss 1921: 49; Monod 1956: 92; Manning & Holthuis 1981: 34; Forest & Guinot 1966: 50; d'Udekem d'Acoz 1999: 203; Mori 1986: 78; Rossetti et al 2006: 21); a wide bathymetrical distribution over muddy bottoms, but with peak abundance on the shelf off the Catalan coast (North-West Mediterranean) (Abelló et al 1988: 47, tables 2, 3, 5). In the western Mediterranean, M. lanata is one of the most abundant and frequent brachyurans on the West coast of Central Italy, with a depth range of 15-306 m (Fanelli et al 2007).…”