Metacarcinus edwardsii, sometimes known as mola rock crab,[1]southern rock crab,[2] or Chilean rock crab,[2] is a species of crab from the Pacific coast of South America.[1][3]
Distribution
Metacarcinus edwardsii is found along the Pacific coast between Guayaquil in Ecuador and the Beagle Channel in the southernmost Chile.[3]
Description
Females reach functional maturity at carapace width 106 mm (4.2 in), that is, 50% of females are egg-bearing at this size. Males reach functional maturity at slightly larger sizes.[4] The largest male crabs measure about 165 mm (6.5 in) in carapace width.[5]
Metacarcinus edwardsii is univoltine, with the mating season from October to January.[5]
Utilization
In Chile, it is the most important commercially exploited crab, caught exclusively in artisanal fisheries.[3][4]
^ abcRojas-Hernandez, Noemi; Véliz, David; Pardo, Luis Miguel (22 April 2014). "Use of novel microsatellite markers for population and paternity analysis in the commercially important crab (Brachyura: Cancridae)". Marine Biology Research. 10 (8): 839–844. doi:10.1080/17451000.2013.863350. hdl:10533/133329. S2CID85601371.
^ abPardo, Luis Miguel; Fuentes, Juan Pablo; Olguín, Andrés; Orensanz, J. M. (Lobo) (2009). "Reproductive maturity in the edible Chilean crab Cancer edwardsii: methodological and management considerations". Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom. 89 (8): 1627–1634. doi:10.1017/S0025315409000010. hdl:11336/95941. ISSN1469-7769. S2CID86161599.