Open AccessSexual maturity of the small shrimp Potimirim brasiliana Villalobos, 1959 (Crustacea, Atyidae), from the southeastern coast of Brazil
Author(s) -
Marina Machado da Costa,
Patrícia Hoffmann,
Geslaine Rafaela Lemos Gonçalves,
Maria Lúcia Negreiros-Fransozo
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
revista de biologia neotropical / journal of neotropical biology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 2178-0579
pISSN - 1807-9652
DOI - 10.5216/rbn.v17i1.60646
Subject(s) - carapace , shrimp , biology , sexual maturity , crustacean , maturity (psychological) , ecology , zoology , psychology , developmental psychology
The shrimp Potimirim brasiliana plays an important role in streams along the Brazilian coast as it feeds on the organic debris from the surrounding ecosystem. We determined the morphological sexual maturity of P. brasiliana by means of relative growth. Monthly throughout a year, we used sieves (2 mm mesh diameter) to collect the specimens in a coastal stream. A total of 3,521 specimens had their carapace length (CL) measured, as well as their second pleura length (PL) and the length (AML) and width (AMW) of the appendix masculina. The studied relationships were the following: CL vs. PL; CL vs. AML and CL vs. AMW, with the data adjusted to a logistic equation. All the relationships tested among the demographic groups differed statistically. The CL50 of females measured 3.45 mm, while the CL50 of males measured 2.75 mm. Two adult morphological groups were set apart for each sex. The CL vs. AMW relationship is the best at demonstrating the separation of the morphological groups for males. This fact is an intriguint issue as it suggests the presence of morphotypes in males, probably, playing different roles in the reproductive process.