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The occurrence of Bathynectes maravigna (Decapoda: Brachyura: Portunidae) in the Turkish part of the Levantine Sea

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 May 2009

Tahir Özcan,
Erhan Irmak,
A. Suat Ateş and
Tuncer Katağan
Tahir Özcan*
Affiliation:
Department of Hydrobiology, Fisheries Faculty, Mustafa Kemal University, 31200 Iskenderun, Hatay, Turkey
Erhan Irmak
Affiliation:
Department of Hydrobiology, Fisheries Faculty, Çanakkale Onsekiz Mart University, 17100 Çanakkale, Turkey
A. Suat Ateş
Affiliation:
Department of Hydrobiology, Fisheries Faculty, Çanakkale Onsekiz Mart University, 17100 Çanakkale, Turkey
Tuncer Katağan
Affiliation:
Department of Hydrobiology, Fisheries Faculty, Ege University, 35100 Bornova-İzmir, Turkey
*
Correspondence should be addressed to: T. Özcan, Department of Hydrobiology, Fisheries Faculty, Mustafa Kemal University, 31200 Iskenderun, Hatay, Turkey email: tozcan@mku.edu.tr

Abstract

The deep-sea portunid crab Bathynectes maravigna, previously known from the Aegean Sea coast of Turkey, is reported for the first time from Mersin Bay on the Levantine Sea coast of Turkey. The record is based on three adult males and two adult females collected by trawling on a sandy bottom at depths between 300 and 450 m in Mersin Bay.

Keywords

Bathynectes maravignaMersin BayLevantine Sea

Information

Type
Research Article
Information
Marine Biodiversity Records , Volume 2 , January 2009, e101
Copyright
Copyright © Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom 2009

The deep water decapod crustaceans of the Turkish coast are poorly known. The deep-sea portunid crab, Bathynectes maravigna (Prestandrea, 1839) is distributed in the Atlantic and the Mediterranean Sea (Zariquiey-Alvarez, 1968; d'Udekem d'Acoz, Reference Udekem d'Acoz1999; Abelló et al., Reference Abelló, Ungaro, Politou, Torres, Roman, Rinelli, Maiorano and Norrito2001). The genus Bathynectes is represented by two species (B. maravigna (Prestandrea, 1839) and B. longipes (Risso, 1816)) in different areas of the Mediterranean Sea. Bathynectes maravigna was first recorded in the Levantine Sea from Israel (Galil & Goren, Reference Galil and Goren1994; Galil, Reference Galil2004). Bathynectes maravigna occurs on the Aegean Sea coast of Turkey (Kocataş & Katagan, 2003). This study describes the first presence of B. maravigna from the Turkish part (Mersin Bay) of the Levantine basin.

During deep-sea benthic surveys carried out off Mersin Bay, Levantine Sea coast of Turkey, three male and two female specimens of B. maravigna were captured on 21 May 2008 on a sandy bottom at a depth range between 300 and 450 m (GPS coordinates: 36°15′26″N 34°18′70″E and 36°24′53″N 34°27′49″E) (Figure 1) with a bottom trawl, with a cod-end mesh size of 22 mm. The specimens were identified by following the studies of Zariquiey-Álvarez (Reference Zariquiey-Álvarez1968) and Falciai & Minervini (Reference Falciai and Minervini1996), and photographed (Figure 2). The specimens have a carapace length (CL) of between 33.5 and 57.5 mm and are now preserved at the Fisheries Faculty (in the collection of Dr T. Özcan) of the Mustafa Kemal University, Turkey.

Fig. 1.

The distribution of Bathynectes maravigna (Prestandrea, 1839) along the eastern Mediterranean coasts. ★, present study; •, Galil & Goren, Reference Galil and Goren1994; ♣, Galil, Reference Galil2004; ♦, Kocataş & Katağan, Reference Kocataş and Katağan2003.

Fig. 2.

Dorsal view of Bathynectes maravigna (Prestandrea, 1839) (♂, CL = 46 mm) collected in Mersin Bay, (the Turkish part of the Levantine Sea). (Photograph: T. Özcan.)

Bathynectes maravigna is mostly recorded on the upper continental slope deeper than around 250 m (Abelló et al., Reference Abelló, Ungaro, Politou, Torres, Roman, Rinelli, Maiorano and Norrito2001), but its records are at depths between 9 and 1455 m (Zariquiey-Álvarez, Reference Zariquiey-Álvarez1968; Noël, Reference Noël1992; Kocataş & Katağan, Reference Kocataş and Katağan2003). According to Abelló et al. (Reference Abelló, Ungaro, Politou, Torres, Roman, Rinelli, Maiorano and Norrito2001) B. maravigna populations in the Mediterranean have very low densities.

Consequently, the present study reports the first record of the crab Bathynectes maravigna from the Turkish part of the Levantine basin.

Table 1.

Measurements (mm) of Bathynectes maravigna (Prestandrea, 1839) captured from Mersin Bay.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

The authors thank Gültekin Akyatan and the crew of the vessel ‘Alize’ for their help in collecting and sorting the benthic material.

References

REFERENCES

Abelló, P., Ungaro, N., Politou, C.Y., Torres, P., Roman, E., Rinelli, P., Maiorano, P. and Norrito, G. (2001) Notes on the distribution and biology of the deep-sea crab Bathynectes maravigna (Brachyura: Portunidae) in the Mediterranean Sea. Hydrobiologia 449, 187–192.Google Scholar
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Figure 0

Fig. 1.The distribution of Bathynectes maravigna (Prestandrea, 1839) along the eastern Mediterranean coasts. ★, present study; •, Galil & Goren, 1994; ♣, Galil, 2004; ♦, Kocataş & Katağan, 2003.

Figure 1

Fig. 2.Dorsal view of Bathynectes maravigna (Prestandrea, 1839) (♂, CL = 46 mm) collected in Mersin Bay, (the Turkish part of the Levantine Sea). (Photograph: T. Özcan.)

Figure 2

Table 1.Measurements (mm) of Bathynectes maravigna (Prestandrea, 1839) captured from Mersin Bay.