Studies of the claws of the crab Cyrtograpsus angulatus Dana (Crustacea, Brachyura, Grapsidae)

FERNÁNDEZ GIMENEZ, ANALIA VERÓNICA; GOLDEMBERG ADRIANA LIA; DÍAZ ALCIRA OFELIA

BIOCIêNCIAS

Facultade de Biociencias-PUCRS

Lugar: Porto Alegre; Año: 2007 vol. 15 p. 29 - 39

0104-3455

The present work describes the histological characteristics and composition of the closer muscle fibers of Cyrtograpsus angulatus (Dana, 1851). Intermolt adult males were sampled in Mar Chiquita lagoon (Buenos Aires, Argentina). The claws were dissected and processed by standard histological and histochemical techniques. The composition of the fibers present in the muscle was analyzed measuring the sarcomere length at three different zones (dorsal, central and ventral). Muscular fibers showed evident striation, elongated nuclei with finely granular nuclear chromatin, and abundant loose connective tissue with amorphous substance, melanin, collagen fibers and haemocytes. The closer muscle presents different kind of fibers, being predominant the slower fibers. The relationship between the structure and function of the muscle and the possible correspondence between the mechanical power produced by the closer muscle and the sarcomere length of the fibers is under discussion. Keywords: Brachyura, claw, crab, Crustacea, histology, sarcomere.Brachyura, claw, crab, Crustacea, histology, sarcomere.