Malacostraca |
Decapoda |
Portunidae
Environment: milieu / climate zone / depth range / distribution range
Ecology
Benthic. Tropical
Western Central Atlantic: confined to the Lake Maracaibo estuarine system.
Length at first maturity / Size / Weight / Age
Maturity: Lm ? range ? - ? cm Max length : 16.0 cm WD male/unsexed; (Ref. 367); 12 cm WD (female)
Carapace almost twice as broad as long; 9 teeth on moderately arched anterolateral margin (including outer orbital tooth and strong lateral spine) tending to be acuminate especially in outer part of row, with tips directed outward; front (excluding inner orbital angles) bearing 4 well-developed teeth, lateral pair moderately acute. Marginal slopes of convex dorsal surface smooth and glistening (when wet), central part and transverse lines variably granulate. Pincers granulate on ridges, fingers of major hand heavily toothed; fifth legs flattened in form of paddles. Male with T-shaped abdomen reaching to anterior 1/4 of thoracic sternite 4; slender first pleopods sinuously curved overlapping in 2 places proximally, diverging distally then recurving to termination near midline and tip of telson, armed distally with dorsolateral band of large and small retrogressive spinules. Color: carapace olive green with variable tints of brown and blue distally, articulations and spines of legs orange and blue; underparts cream and light yellow with suffusion of light blue.
Inhabits brackish to occasionally fresh waters containing much silt and decomposing organic material, usually below 16‰ salinity, on sandy and muddy bottoms and among roots of mangroves (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
Trophic EcologyFood items (preys)
Diet composition
Food consumption
Predators
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).
