Egg production of the burrowing shrimp Callichirus seilacheri (Bott 1955) (Decapoda, Callianassidae) in northern Chile

Abstract

The thalassinidean shrimp Callichirus seilacheri is a common species in the intertidal zone of the South American Pacific coast. However, our knowledge of its reproductive ecology is rather limited. The present study was carried out between January and December 2003 at Las Machas, northern Chile. Although ovigerous females were encountered almost throughout the study period, they were particularly abundant between May and September when water temperatures were lowest and sediment coverage of the burrow entrances was highest. Females of C. seilacheri produced numerous (17,450 ± 3,796 eggs) and small (0.884 ± 0.080 mm; 0.262 ± 0.054 mm 3 ) eggs when compared to other thalassinidean shrimps for which such information is available. Fecundity was positively correlated with female size; however, correlations were allometric, which might be related to the elasticity of the abdomen. Egg volume increased by 41.2% during embryogenesis, and egg loss during the incubation period was on average 8%. Females inverted on average 14.9% of their dry weight into egg production.

Callichirus garthiis a valid species, distinct fromC. seilacheri(Decapoda: Axiidea: Callianassidae)

“…Retamal 1981;Aste & Retamal 1983;Buitron 1998;Retamal & Moyano 2010), while others have used C. seilacheri (e.g. Sakai 1999;Hernáez & Wehrtmann 2007;Hernáez et al 2008) or even the Atlantic C. islagrande (Schmitt, 1935) (e.g. Tejada 1982;Tejada & Guzmán 1984).…”

“…Callichirus garthi has been reported by Buitron (1998) and Retamal & Moyano (2010) from the Peruvian and Chilean coasts, respectively, and treated as a valid species by several authors (Retamal 1981;Aste & Retamal 1983;Manning & Felder 1991;Tudge et al 2000;Thatje 2003). However, the validity of C. garthi is uncertain, as Sakai (1999) regarded the species as a junior synonym of Callianassa seilacheri Bott, 1955, described from El Salvador (Central America), therein followed by Sakai (2005Sakai ( , 2011 and others (Manning & Felder 1986;Hendrickx 1995a;Hernáez & Wehrtmann 2007;Hernáez et al 2008). Callichirus garthi was synonymized by Sakai (1999) after the study of the type series of C. seilacheri (SMF 2184, SMF 2185) and specimens from the Peruvian coast (SMF 494), but not the type series of C. garthi.…”

Sexual maturity and egg production in an unexploited population of the red squat lobster Pleuroncodes monodon (Decapoda, Galatheidae) from Central America

“…Females of P. monodon in Costa Rica invested 7.5% of their body weight in egg production, a low value compared to other groups of decapods (Caridea 7-35%: Clarke et al, 1991;Pavanelli et al, 2008; Anomura 3-10%: Lardies and Wehrtmann, 1996;Hernáez and Palma, 2003;Thalassinidea: 14-20%, Thessalou and Kiortsis, 1997;Hernáez et al, 2008;Brachyura: 3-22%, Hines, 1991;Brante et al, 2004). This relatively low energy allocation seems to be sufficient to assure a complete embryonic development without significant egg loss during the incubation period (see Section 3).…”

“…These subsamples were dried together with the remaining egg mass for 48 h at 65 • C; thereafter, all samples were weighed with an analytical balance (Sartorius; ±0.1 mg). The egg's dry weight and the total number of eggs were calculated according to the following equation (Hernáez et al, 2008):…”

Spatial distribution and population dynamics of Callichirus major (Crustacea, Callianassidae) in a tropical sandy beach, northeastern Brazil

“…According to these authors, a continuous reproductive cycle at Pernambuco may have compensated for the low fecundity observed at this site. In callianassids, ovigerous females usually lose part of their brood as an artifact of sampling associated with the use of a suction pump (Hernáez, Palma, & Wehrtmann, ; Pezzuto, ). Individual females were not isolated in separate containers as they were collected, and many lost eggs were found in the plastic bag with the complete sample.…”