Larval dispersal of Brachyura in one of the largest estuarine/marine systems in the world.

The Amazon Continental Shelf (ACS) is a complex habitat that receives a large annual freshwater discharge into the ocean, producing a superficial plume and carrying with it large amounts of nutrients to the continental shelf along thousands of kilometers while sustaining high biodiversity in the estuary-ocean continuum. For the first time, this study monitored six sites in a wide transect with approximately 240 km radius on the ACS every 2-4 months. The objectives were (1) to analyze the composition of larval Brachyuran crabs and (2) to predict the importance of environmental parameters (temperature, salinity and chlorophyll-a) in structuring their abundance.

Description of zoeal stages of Albunea paretii Guérin-Méneville, 1853 (Decapoda: Albuneidae) collected from the Amazon Continental Shelf (Brazil).

The present work describes and illustrates in detail the six zoeal stages of Albunea paretii collected from plankton samples on the Amazon continental shelf in Brazil. The morphological characters are compared with those of other known albuneid larvae. As in other albuneids, the zoeae of Albunea paretii have a semi-globose carapace, a long rostral spine and a pair of long posterolateral spines on pereon, as well as three aesthetascs on the antennule of zoea I, a strong antennal spinous process and a convex telson with a stout posterolateral spine.

Checklist of the Brachyura of the Brazilian Amazon Coastal Zone and knowledge status of their larval development.

This bibliographic review includes all brachyuran species listed for the Brazilian Amazon Coastal Zone (covering the occurrence of species in the states of Amapá, Pará, and Maranhão), with respective larval development either fully or partially described. Information provided include the current taxon name, taxon authorship, larval stages described, and habitat of the adult of each species. A total of 194 species were recorded in the study area.

The complete larval development of the mud shrimp Upogebia vasquezi (Gebiidea: Upogebiidae) reared in the laboratory.

The larval development of Upogebia vasquezi consists of four zoeal stages and a megalopa. In the present study, each larval stage was described and illustrated in detail. The first two stages are re-described in order to provide a detailed comparison with the data available for this species recorded in a previous study.