Postembryonic development in freshwater Decapoda: morphological description of the newly hatched stage of the crab Goyazana castelnaui (H. Milne Edwards, 1853) (Brachyura: Trichodactylidae)

• Grant number: 25/00577-3
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: April 01, 2025
• End date: March 31, 2026
• Field of knowledge: Biological Sciences - Zoology - Morphology of Recent Groups
• Principal Investigator: Felipe Bezerra Ribeiro
• Grantee: Eduardo Peripato Alves de Brito
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Filosofia, Ciências e Letras de Ribeirão Preto (FFCLRP). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). Ribeirão Preto , SP, Brazil

Abstract

Trichodactylidae Milne Edwards, 1853 is an exclusively freshwater family of crabs that possesses direct post-embryonic development, in which the eggs hatch directly into juveniles that present a similar morphology to the adult. Studies about post-embryonic development in freshwater crabs are quite scarce. Therefore this project aims to describe and illustrate the external morphology of the newly hatched juveniles stage of the freshwater crab Goyazana castelnaui Milne Edwards, 1853. This project proposes to recognize distinguishing characters for the identification of the juveniles of this species and its differentiation with juveniles of other species. Semi-permanent slides of the appendages will be prepared and illustrated using an optical microscope equipped with a camera lucida. To analyze characters of the carapace and better observe the setal morphology, Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) and micro-computed tomography will be used. The relevancy of this study is founded upon its potential to aid the conservation of this species, by enabling their identification without the need to collect an adult individual, as well as in the matter of contributing to the scientific knowledge about the ontogeny of said species and help understanding the phylogenetic relationship between its group.