The Larval Development of the Crab, Cyclograpsus cinereus Dana, under Laboratory Conditions

Abstract

Early Descriptions of larvae of the Grapsidae, based largely on material from the plankton and frequently limited to the first zoeal stage, suggested considerable uniformity in the morphological characteristics of larvae of this group of crabs (Hyman, 1924). Subsequent descriptions, based on plankton material as well as on material obtained from rearing the larvae In the laboratory, have served to point out certain differences which do exist in the larvae of this group (Aikawa, 1929; Hart, 1935). To date, however, a very limited number of larvae of crabs belonging to the family Grapsidae have been described.