Limb loss in the giant spider crab Macrocheira kaempferi
2001
"Okamoto, K. (Shizuoka-ken. Government Office (Japan))."
"One hundred seven-six ovigerous females of the giant spider crab. Macrocheira kaempferi were captured using crab-pots and trawl-nets at a depth of 200-500 m in Suruga Bay between October 1987 and January 1994. There were no significant differences in the average number of limbs lost between crabs obtained using the crab-pots and those obtained using the trawl-net. Among the total number of females captured, only 46 (26.1%) had a complete limb complement; that is 130 (73.9%) had one or more limbs missing. M. kaempferi females were found to have a high degree of limb loss in comparison with other reported crab species. Among specimens with missing limbs, only one limb was missing in the majority of cases. There was no significant difference in the frequency of limb loss between the right and left sides. The pattern of limb loss differed significantly from a random pattern (chE2-test.p<0.01). Crabs tended to lose the 1st walking legs (the longest limbs for a female) most frequently (33.2%) and chelipeds only rarely (5.7%)."
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