Sex Ratio, Size at Reproductive Maturity, and Reproduction of the Hawaiian Kona Crab, Ranina ranina (Linnaeus) (Brachyura, Gymnopleura, Raninidae)
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1976-04
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University of Hawaii Press
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Abstract
Sex ratio and size at reproduction of Ranina ranina (Linnaeus) in
Hawaii were investigated. A sample of 1596 Kona crabs collected over 1 year in
Hawaiian waters was examined to determine sex ratio and size at reproduction.
Males constituted 55 percent of the overall samples and a similar proportion
in all size classes. Males attain a larger maximum size than do females and have
mature spermatozoa when their carapace length exceeds 60 mm. Secondary sexual
characteristics in the male develop at a carapace length of about 75 mm.
Females are ovigerous from May to September. Most ovarian growth occurs
between February and May. In May, at the beginning of the spawning season, the
number of eggs ovulated is a function of maternal body size: a 25-percent increase
in carapace length is associated with a 200-percent increase in number of eggs
ovulated. This is not so later in the spawning season (August-September). Larger
females appear to ovulate at least twice each season, with the primary effort going
into the first ovulation. The smallest 5-mm size class in which at least 50 percent of
the females are ovigerous during the spawning season is 70.0-74.9 mm in carapace
length. The mean minimum size of ovigerous females is 86 ± 8 mm in this dimension.
The spermatheca in females is open to the outside at carapace lengths exceeding
60 mm.
Eighteen crabs with carapace lengths less than 65 mm were captured. Half (31.9
mm-42.6 mm) were white in color and were all immature; the remaining half
(43.6 mm-61.1 mm) were the usual orange color and all of these exhibited active
gametogenesis. This correlation of color with size may be of significance for
reproductive behavior.
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Fielding A, Haley SR. 1976. Sex ratio, size at reproductive maturity, and reproduction of the Hawaiian Kona crab, Ranina ranina (Linnaeus) (Brachyura, Gymnopleura, Raninidae). Pac Sci 30(2): 131-145.
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