Cardisoma armatum

Cardisoma armatum Herklots, 1851

Cardisoma Guanhuni.—Studer, 1882:333, 353 [discussion] [not C. guanhumi Latreille, 1828].

Cardisoma armatum.—Pechüel-Loesche, 1882:299.—Büttikofer, 1890:464, 487, fig. on p. 465.—Johnston, 1906:861.—Gruvel, 1913:169 [listed].—Capart, 1951:196, fig. 79.—Monod, 1956:458, fig. 618.—Rossignol, 1957:95, 120 [key], pl. 2: fig. 2.—Humes, 1957:181, 189.—Dubois, 1957: 7, fig. 24.—Gauld, 1960:72.—Rossignol, 1962:121.—Guinot and Ribeiro, 1962:73.—De Leersnyder and Hoestlandt, 1963:211 [physiology].—Ribeiro, 1964:18.—De Leersnyder and Hoestlandt, 1966:43 [physiology].—Forest and Guinot, 1966:94.—Monod, 1967:180, pl. 17: fig. 1.—Uschakov, 1970:450, 455 [listed].—Bright and Hogue, 1972:17.—Türkay, 1973:86, figs. 1, 3, 7–8, map 1.—Hartmann-Schröder and Hartmann, 1974:19.

Cardisoma Guanhumi var. armatum.—Bouvier, 1911:226.

Cardisoma guanhumi.—Gruvel, 1913:169 [listed] [not C. guanhumi Latreille, 1828].

Cardiosoma armata.—Bruce-Chwatt and Fitz-John, 1951:117, 118, 119.

Gardiosoma.—Bruce-Chwatt and Fitz-John, 1951:120.

Cardisoma.—Uschakov, 1970, fig. 4.

Cardiosoma armatum.—Pauly, 1975:57.

MATERIAL EXAMINED.—Pillsbury Material: None.

Other Material: Cape Verde Islands: Porto da Praia, Sāo Tiago, coconut grove, North Pacific Exploring Expedition, 1 (W).

Senegal: Dakar, O. F. Cook, 1, 1 (W).

Liberia: Grand Cape Mount, 1882, J. Büttikofer, 3, 3 (L).

Ghana: Accra, 1868–1869, M. Sintenis, 1 (L). Elmina, 1840–1855, H. S. Pel, 1 holotype (L, Crust. D.58).

Dahomey: Near Cotonou, Oct 1962, H. Hoestlandt, 1, 1 (L).

Nigeria: Lagos, 16 Aug 1926, A. S. Pearse, 1 (W). Adu, 25 Aug 1926, A. S. Pearse, 1 fragmented (W). Niger delta between Brass and Port Harcourt, May–Aug 1960, H. J. G. Beets, 4, 5 (L).

Cameroon: Batanga, A. J. Good, 13 Mar 1931, 1, 1 (W).

Zaire: Banana, Jul 1915, H. Lang, American Museum Congo Expedition, 18, 8 (W).

Angola: Musserra, P. Kamerman, several specimens (L).

DESCRIPTION.—Rathbun, 1921:457; Capart, 1951:197; Türkay, 1973:87.

Figures: Capart, 1951, fig. 79; Monod, 1956, fig. 618.

Male Pleopod: Türkay, 1973, fig. 1 (no locality).

MEASUREMENTS.—Carapace widths of males 25 to 109 mm, of females 27 to 85 mm.

BIOLOGY.—This species, like other gecarcinids, is terrestrial, living in burrows inland. Rathbun (1921:458) gave an account of its habits. Gauld (1960:72) noted that the species is “very common in the marshy ground around lagoons where they dig large burrows; they are extensively trapped for food.” Bruce-Chwatt and Fitz-John (1951:117–118) called it the edible land crab and noted that it may attain a carapace width of 7 inches (17.5 cm). They reported a burrow 5 feet 9 inches (172.5 cm) deep. Pauly (1975:57) noted that this species was very common in the Sakumo Lagoon, Ghana.

Humes (1957) reported that this species was the host of the harpacticoid copepod Cancrincola jamaicensis Wilson.

Ovigerous females have been recorded in August (Guinot and Ribeiro, 1962; Ribeiro, 1964).

DISTRIBUTION.—Cardisoma armatum is a tropical West African species, known from the Cape Verde Islands and from Senegal to Angola, including Fernando Poo and São Tomé islands in the Gulf of Guinea. Monod (1956) and Türkay (1973) summarized the older literature and the latter author has provided the most recent account of the species. To the references in Monod the following can be added:

West Africa: No specific locality (Türkay, 1973).

Cape Verde Islands: Baía de Sal-Rei, Boavista (Guinot and Ribeiro, 1962; Ribeiro, 1964).

Senegal: No specific locality (Türkay, 1973). Marigots de Hann (Bouvier, 1911). Saint-Louis (Monod, 1967; Türkay, 1973). Dakar (Monod, 1967). Rtombo [?](Türkay, 1973). Joal; Ngor near Dakar (Humes, 1957).

Guinea: Conakry (Uschakov, 1970).

Sierra Leone: Bunce River, opposite Kamatare Island, near Freetown (Humes, 1957).

Liberia: No specific locality (Büttikofer, 1890; Johnston, 1906).

Ivory Coast: From market in Abidjan (Forest and Guinot, 1966). Koumassi, near Abidjan (Humes, 1957). Abidjan (Türkay, 1973).

Ghana: No specific locality (Gauld, 1960; Türkay, 1973). Kumasi and Sekondi (Türkay, 1973). Sakumo lagoon (Pauly 1975). Accra; Osu Fisheries Station near Accra (Humes, 1957).

Dahomey: No specific locality (De Leersnyder and Hoestlandt, 1963, 1966).

Nigeria: Lagos (Bruce-Chwatt and Fitz-John, 1951; Türkay, 1973). Iru Fisheries Station near Lagos (Humes, 1957). Cameroon: Douala (Türkay, 1973).

Fernando Poo: No specific locality (Türkay, 1973).

São Tomé: “environs de la ville” and Iógoiógo (Forest and Guinot, 1966).

Gabon: No specific locality (Türkay, 1973).

Congo: No specific locality (Rossignol, 1957). Baie de Pointe-Noire (Rossignol, 1962). Bahua [?] and Pointe-Noire (Türkay, 1973). Loango (Pechüel-Loesche, 1882). Pointe-Noire; Songololo River near Pointe-Noire (Humes, 1957).

Zaire: Banana (Dubois, 1957; Türkay, 1973).

Angola: Luanda (Türkay, 1973). Santo António do Zaire; Moçâmedes (Guinot and Ribeiro, 1962). Between Cacuaco and Lobito-Benguela (Hartmann-Schröder and Hartmann, 1974).

Gecarcinus Leach, 1814:430 [type-species: Cancer ruricola Linnaeus, 1758, by selection by H. Milne Edwards, 1838, in 1836–1844, pl. 21; gender: masculine].

Geocarcinus Miers, 1886:xiv, 216, 219 [invalid emendation of Gecarcinus Leach, 1814; type-species: Cancer ruricola Linnaeus, 1758; gender: masculine].

Johngarthia Türkay, 1970:335, 341, 343 [type-species: Gecarcinus planatus Stimpson, 1860, by original designation; gender: feminine].