Malacostraca |
Decapoda |
Portunidae
Environment: milieu / climate zone / depth range / distribution range
Ecology
Benthopelagic; brackish; depth range 0 - 3 m (Ref. 97531). Tropical
Western Central Atlantic: Gulf of Mexico.
Length at first maturity / Size / Weight / Age
Maturity: Lm ? range ? - ? cm Max length : 14.0 cm WD male/unsexed; (Ref. 367); 15 cm WD (female)
Carapace twice as broad as long; 9 teeth on moderately arched anterolateral margin (including outer orbital tooth and strong lateral spine) acuminate with edges variably granulate; front (excluding inner orbital angles) bearing 4 acuminate teeth, inner pair narrower than outer. Marginal slopes of convex dorsal surface smooth and glistening (when wet), central part lightly and evenly granulate, transverse lines prominent. Pincers with sharp granulate ridges, fingers of major hand heavily toothed but not gaping; fifth leg flattened in form of paddles. Male with T-shaped abdomen reaching nearly to juncture between thoracic sternites 3 and 4; slender first pleopods sinuously curved, overlapping in proximal half, diverging distally with dorsolateral narrow band of large and small sharp retrogressive spinules. Color: green and blue with tints of red, orange, and purple; underparts white.
Benthopelagic. Euryhaline (Ref. 97531). Inhabits estuarine waters of ditches, lagoons, and river mouths. Feeds on a variety of materials including mollusks, other bottom invertebrates, and some fishes, carrion and detritus (Ref. 367).
Life cycle and mating behavior
Maturity | Reproduction | Spawning | Eggs | Fecundity | Larvae
Members of the order Decapoda are mostly gonochoric. Mating behavior: Precopulatory courtship ritual is common (through olfactory and tactile cues); usually indirect sperm transfer.
Tavares, M. 2003 True Crabs. pp. 327-352. In Carpenter, K.E. (ed.) The living marine resources of the Western Central Atlantic. Volume1: introdution, molluscs, crustaceans, hagfishes, sharks, batoid fishes, and chimaeras. FAO Species Identification Guide for Fishery Purposes and American Society of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists Special PublicationNo. 5. Rome, FAO. pp. 1-600. (Ref. 367)
IUCN Red List Status
(Ref. 130435: Version 2025-1)
CITES status (Ref. 108899)
Not Evaluated
Not Evaluated
Threat to humans
Human uses
Fisheries: minor commercial
| FishSource |
Tools
More information
Population dynamicsGrowth
Max. ages / sizes
Length-weight rel.
Length-length rel.
Length-frequencies
Mass conversion
Abundance
Life cycleReproductionMaturityFecunditySpawningEggsEgg developmentLarvae PhysiologyOxygen consumption
Human RelatedStamps, coins, misc.
Internet sources
Estimates based on models
Fishing Vulnerability
Low vulnerability (10 of 100).
