Abstract

RODRIGUEZ, Eynelet; ARDILA, Gustavo  and  PARAMO, Jorge. MORPHOMETRIC RELATIONSHIPS OF COMMERCIALLY IMPORTANT DEEP-SEA CRUSTACEANS IN THE COLOMBIAN CARIBBEAN SEA. Bol. Cient. Mus. Hist. Nat. Univ. Caldas [online]. 2012, vol.16, n.2, pp.236-245. ISSN 0123-3068.

With the purpose of providing biological information about commercially important deep-sea crustaceans for a new fishery in the Colombian Caribbean Sea, in this study the morphometric relationships of the giant red shrimp (Aristaeomorpha foliacea), the royal red shrimp (Pleoticus robustus), the pink speckled shrimp (Penaeopsis serrata) and the Caribbean lobster (Metanephrops binghami) were described in this study. The samples were collected in the Colombian Caribbean Sea using trawling nets in depths between 200 and 550 m (100 m strata intervals). The total weight, sex and number of individuals per species from each station were recorded. Total length (TL) vs cephalothorax length (CL) and total weight (TW) vs TL were determined with a linear regression using a linear allometric model (logarithm). Statistical significant differences were found in the size between sexes for deep-sea shrimp species, revealing sexual dimorphism. Even though, significant differences between the size of sexes of M. binghami were not found, revealing size homogeneity. The A. foliacea and P. robustus females increased the WT allometrically 3.27 and 3.32 times each increase in TL, respectively, but the males of these two species had an isometric growth of TW in relation to TL. The P. serrata species showed a negative allometric growth in the female and male. M. bighami females and males showed a positive allometric growth, that is to say, this species increased more in TW regarding TL.

Keywords : morphometry; Colombian Caribbean Sea; deep-sea crustaceans.

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