Crustacea

Onaga, T., C. Fiedler and J.A. Baeza. 2012. Prontadric simultaneous hermaphroditism in Parahippolyte misticia (Crustacea: Decapoda: Hippolytidae): implications for the evolution of mixed sexual systems in marine shrimps. Journal of Crustacean Biology 32(3): 383-394.

by Antonio Baeza

Vaccines and crustacean aquaculture – a mechanistic exploration

by Ed Pope

Sexual discrimination at work: Spinicaudatan ‘Clam Shrimp’ (Crustacea: Branchiopoda) as a model organism for the study of sexual system evolution

by Tim Astrop

Palaeontologica Electronica, In Press

Biological interactions are rarely preserved in the fossil record and where they do occur, are often difficult to... more Biological interactions are rarely preserved in the fossil record and where they do occur, are often difficult to discern. Therefore, the evolution of sexual systems over geologic time in animals has been difficult to investigate. The reproductively labile Spinicaudata ('clam shrimp') are a model clade for the study of sexual systems, containing dioecious (males and females), androdoecious (males and hermaphrodites) and self-fertilizing hermaphrodites. Herein we present a methodology in which mating systems can be inferred by the quantification of
carapace shape differences attributable to sexual dimorphism in fossil specimens. We develop our methodology by comparing the carapaces of six species from two families of extant Spinicaudatans using eigenshape analyses. Sexual dimorphism was successfully quantified using morphometric techniques combined with discriminant analyses, correctly identifying males and females/hermaphrodites 92% of the time in extant taxa. Thirty-four specimens of the Jurassic clam shrimp Carapacetheria disgragaris were analyzed utilizing the methods developed with extant species. From these fossil data, we were able to detect two distinct carapace shapes and were able to assign 100% of individuals to either shape. The mean carapace shapes of the fossil specimens fit well with the average outlines for males and females in the extant species, enabling us to calculate a ratio of 51:49 males:females and assign the sexual system of dioecy.
This study begins to successfully utilize the fossil record of the Spinicaudata to elucidate ancient sexual systems, which will likely have far reaching implications for our understanding of the evolutionary dynamics of sexual systems over geologic timescales.

Effects of removal of muscle receptor organ input on the temporal structure of non-giant swimming cycles in the crayfish, Cherax destructor

by Zen Faulkes

Sand Crab Digging: the Neuroethology and Evolution of a New Behaviour

by Zen Faulkes

Can the parthenogenetic marbled crayfish Marmorkrebs compete with other crayfish species in fights?

by Zen Faulkes

The locomotor toolbox of the spanner crab, Ranina ranina (brachyura, Raninidae)

by Zen Faulkes

Forecasting the distribution of Marmorkrebs, a parthenogenetic crayfish with high invasive potential, in Madagascar, Europe, and North America

by Zen Faulkes

Synergies between disparate motor systems: loci for behavioural evolution

by Zen Faulkes

A record of skeleton shrimp Paracaprella pusilla Mayer, 1890 from Mumbai waters

by Vishal Bhave

The anterior and posterior sensory dorsal organs of crustaceans

by Rudy Lerosey-Aubril

LEROSEY-AUBRIL, R. & MEYER, R. (submitted). The anterior and posterior sensory dorsal organs of crustaceans,

Baeza, J.A., A.A. Braga, L.S. López-Greco, E. Perez, M.L. Negreiros-Fransozo and A. Fransozo. 2010. Population dynamics, sex ratio and size at sex change in a protandric-simultaneous hermaphrodite, the spiny shrimp Exhippolysmata oplophoroides. Marine Biology 157: 2643–2653.

by Antonio Baeza

Baeza, J.A. 2010. Molecular systematics of peppermint and cleaner shrimps: phylogeny and taxonomy of the genera Lysmata and Exhippolysmata (Crustacea: Caridea: Hippolytidae). Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society 160: 254–265

by Antonio Baeza

Baeza, J.A. and C. Piantoni. 2010. Sexual system, sex ratio and group living in the shrimp Thor amboinensis (De Man): relevance to resource-monopolization and sex-allocation theories. Biological Bulletin 219: 151–165.

by Antonio Baeza

Bolaños, J.A., J.A. Baeza, J.E. Hernandez, C. Lira, and R. López. 2012. Population dynamics and reproductive output of the nonindigenous crab Charybdis hellerii in the southeastern Caribbean Sea. Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom 92(3): 469-474.

by Antonio Baeza

Baeza, J.A., J.A. Bolaños, J.E. Hernandez, C. Lira, and R. López. 2011. Monogamy does not last long in Pontonia mexicana, a symbiotic shrimp of the Amber pen-shell Pinna carnea from the southeastern Caribbean Sea. Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology 407(1): 41–47.

by Antonio Baeza

Baeza, J.A. and C. Asorey. 2012. Testing the role of male-male competition in the evolution of sexual dimorphism: a comparison between two species of porcelain crabs. Biological Journal of the Linnean Society 105:548–558.

by Antonio Baeza

Commensal worm traces and possible juvenile thalassinidean burrows associated with Ophiomorpha nodosa, Pleistocene, southern Brazil

by Jordi M. (de) Gibert

Gibert, J.M. de; Netto, R.G.; Tognoli, F.M.W.; Grangeiro, M.E. 2006. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 230: 70-84.

The Pleistocene Chuí Formation at Osório (Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil) consists of coastal marine and eolian sands, the... more The Pleistocene Chuí Formation at Osório (Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil) consists of coastal marine and eolian sands, the former containing abundant and well-preserved Ophiomorpha nodosa burrow systems. Detailed ichnological study has revealed interesting features associated with them. Small-sized Ophiomorpha, here assigned to a new ichnospecies, O. puerilis, are interpreted as possible burrows of juvenile thalassinidean crustaceans probably belonging to the same species as the producers of larger O. nodosa. Additionally, helicoidal burrows with thick, concentrically laminated linings are associated with the walls of O. nodosa. They are assigned to the new ichnospecies Cylindrichnus helix, and they are interpreted as dwellings of commensal annelid worms. The association of these three ichnospecies constitutes a fossil example of the role of thalassinideans as ecosystem engineers able to modify their environment and to create new space and resources usable by other organisms.

Madrigueras de Uca tangeri (Decapoda: Brachyura: Ocypodidae), ensayos de moldeo con resinas en el estuario del río Piedras (Lepe, Huelva, SO España)

by Jordi M. (de) Gibert

Belaústegui, Z.; Muñiz, F.; Gibert, J.M. de 2010. Cidaris 30, 73-76.

This paper describes a first attempt to obtain resin casts, using epoxy and polyester resins, on burrows of the... more This paper describes a first attempt to obtain resin casts, using epoxy and polyester resins, on burrows of the deposit-feeding fiddler crab Uca tangeri. This is the only European fiddler crab species, which is found in the SW of the Iberian Peninsula. The study has been carried out in the estuary of the Piedras river in Lepe (southern Huelva). The obtained casts allow to study burrow morphologies, which are similar to those described as Psilonichnus in the fossil record. This ichnogenus is present in Neogene marine sedimentary rocks from the Lepe area. The use of this technique is a useful tool not only to learn about the burrowing behavior of modern animals but also to support tracemaker interpretations of fossil burrows.

Paleobiology of the crustacean trace fossil Spongeliomorpha iberica in the Miocene of southeastern Spain

by Jordi M. (de) Gibert

Gibert, J.M. de; Ekdale, A.A. 2010. Acta Palaeontologica Polonica 55 (4), 733-740.

The trace fossil Spongeliomorpha iberica locally occurs in the Tortonian (Upper Miocene) marine strata of the Fortuna... more The trace fossil Spongeliomorpha iberica locally occurs in the Tortonian (Upper Miocene) marine strata of the Fortuna basin in southeastern Spain, and its excellent preservation state allows a reliable reconstruction of its main morphologic features. The burrow systems are branched (but not anastomosing), and they include numerous, short, blind tunnels. The burrow walls are strongly ornamented with bioglyphs displaying a rhomboidal pattern, consisting mostly of individual “Y”-shaped scratches. Smaller, secondary bioglyphs consist of sets of less incised transverse scratches. These features allow us to assign the ichnospecies to a decapod crustacean, most likely an alpheid or thalassinidean shrimp. The burrow apparently served as a refuge for the inhabitant, which fed upon microorganisms growing on the walls of the burrow by means of scraping the interior surfaces with the maxillipeds or other mouth parts. It is also likely that the shrimp used the multiple blind tunnels to store organic material (probably plant detritus) to be used for later consumption. The crustaceans colonized mud firmgrounds, which were formed by erosion during a rapid sea-level fall. Thus, the burrows occur in direct association with erosional regressive surfaces and therefore are good stratigraphic indicators of abrupt paleoenvironmental change.