Growth Per Molt and Limb Regeneration in the Spider Crab, Chionoecetes opilio

Abstract

Spider crabs, Chionoecetes opilio, were held in the laboratory for observations on carapace width increments and limb regeneration per molt. The merus (the longest limb segment) of autotomized limbs regenerated to 48 and 73% of their full length, irrespective of crab size, on the first and second molt, respectively. Fitting least squares regressions to percentage increase of carapace width per molt (Y) vs. premolt carapace width (X [in millimeters]) gave the following equations: immature males Y = 40.7 − 0.363X; immature females Y = 45.3 − 0.444X; mature males Y = 14.2 + 0.051X; and females’ terminal molt to maturity Y = 14.0 − 0.014X. Only the slopes for the first two equations differed significantly from zero. Growth per molt decreased with sexual maturity for both sexes and was significantly less for females molting to maturity than for mature males of the same size. Growth per molt for immature females was significantly greater than for immature males, but the difference was slight.