Reproducción de la langostilla Munida subrugosa (Anomura: Galatheidae) en aguas costeras del extremo austral de América

TAPELLA, F.; LOVRICH, G.A.; VINUESA, J.H.

Trujillo, Perú

Congreso; VII Congreso Latinoamericano sobre Ciencias del Mar; 1999

Among the 4 species of Galatheidae that occur in the southwestern Atlantic, Munida subrugosa is the most abundant, specially in the Beagle Channel. This species may have commercial interest in the area, but so far the information about its biology is limited. Our objective was to study the reproductive biology of M. subrugosa in the souther limit of the range of distributions. From November 1997 to October 1998 we took monthly samples with an epibenthic trawl. From each sample we took thirty animals, recorded their morphometric measurements, and dissected for gonads and eggs. The size at  morfometric maturity was calculated using the MATURE routine. The reproductive cycle started in June, reflected by the maximum size of oocytes, maximum value of gonadosomatic index in females (16.8) and males (1.6), and by the proportion (83%) of ovigerous females with complete egg-hatches. Since the planktonic larvae reportedly hatch in September, the embryonic development lasted ~90-120 days. Fecundity (between 1000 and 11000 eggs) correlated to the female size (r=0.67). Females attained the gonad maturity size at 10,9 mm of carapace length (CL). Males, reached the morphometric maturity at 24,3 mm CL, although males ~10 mm CL showed spermatophores in their deferent ducts. These first observations could be useful to establish some commercial exploitation regulations.