{{Short description|Species of crab}} {{Speciesbox | image = Pyromaia_tuberculata.jpg | genus = Pyromaia | species = tuberculata | authority = (Lockington, 1877) | synonyms = *''Inachus tuberculatus'' <small>Lockington, 1877</small> *''Neorhynchus mexicanus'' <small>Rathbun, 1894</small> | synonyms_ref = <ref name="Ng">{{cite journal |journal=Raffles Bulletin of Zoology |year=2008 |volume=17 |pages=1–286 |title=Systema Brachyurorum: Part I. An annotated checklist of extant Brachyuran crabs of the world |author=Peter K. L. Ng |author2=Danièle Guinot |author3=Peter J. F. Davie |url=http://rmbr.nus.edu.sg/rbz/biblio/s17/s17rbz.pdf |url-status = dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080521185142/http://rmbr.nus.edu.sg/rbz/biblio/s17/s17rbz.pdf |archive-date=2008-05-21}}</ref> }}
'''''Pyromaia tuberculata''''' is a species of crab in the family Inachoididae.<ref name=":0">{{cite WoRMS |author=Peter Davie |year=2010 |title=''Pyromaia tuberculata'' (Lockington, 1877) |id=395036 |accessdate=May 27, 2012}}</ref>
== Taxonomy == ''Pyromaia tuberculata'', also known as the fire crab,<ref name=":5">{{Cite journal|last=Ahyong|first=Shane T.|date=April 2005|title=Range extension of two invasive crab species in eastern Australia: Carcinus maenas (Linnaeus) and Pyromaia tuberculata (Lockington)|journal=Marine Pollution Bulletin|volume=50|issue=4|pages=460–462|doi=10.1016/j.marpolbul.2005.02.003|pmid=15823308 |bibcode=2005MarPB..50..460A }}</ref> was first described by Lockington in 1877 off the coast of San Diego, California.<ref name=":1">{{Cite journal|last1=Luppi|first1=Tomás A.|last2=Spivak|first2=Eduardo D.|date=2003-06-30|title=Postembryonic development of ''Pyromaia tuberculata'' (Lockington, 1877): a review of larval and postlarval morphology |journal=Scientia Marina|volume=67|issue=2|pages=201–214|doi=10.3989/scimar.2003.67n2201|issn=1886-8134|doi-access=free|bibcode=2003ScMar..67..201L }}</ref> The familial classification of ''pyromaia'' is currently still controversial.<ref name=":1" /> It was originally known as the ''Inachus tuberculata'', and has also been referred to as ''Neorhynchus mexicanus''.<ref name=":0" /> It is a member of the superfamily majoidea, also called “spider crabs”.<ref name=":6">{{Citation |last1=Brockerhoff |first1=Annette |title=Human-Mediated Spread of Alien Crabs|date=2011 |work=In the Wrong Place - Alien Marine Crustaceans: Distribution, Biology and Impacts|pages=27–106|editor-last=Galil|editor-first=Bella S.|publisher=Springer Netherlands |doi=10.1007/978-94-007-0591-3_2 |isbn=9789400705906 |last2=McLay|first2=Colin|editor2-last=Clark |editor2-first=Paul F.|editor3-last=Carlton|editor3-first=James T.}}</ref>
== Description == ''P. tuberculata'' is a benthic dwelling crab species, with adults often inhabiting continental shelves. Individuals of ''P. tuberculata'' have a granulate and tuberculate carapace, with a short, backwards facing spine on the first abdominal segment.<ref name=":2">{{Citation|last=Tavares|first=Marcos|title=Alien Decapod Crustaceans in the Southwestern Atlantic Ocean|date=2011|work=In the Wrong Place - Alien Marine Crustaceans: Distribution, Biology and Impacts |pages=251–268|editor-last=Galil|editor-first=Bella S.|publisher=Springer Netherlands|doi=10.1007/978-94-007-0591-3_7 |isbn=9789400705906 |editor2-last=Clark|editor2-first=Paul F.|editor3-last=Carlton|editor3-first=James T.}}</ref> The species undergoes nine post-larval stages each separated by brief periods of molting.<ref name=":3">{{Cite journal|last1=Flores|first1=Augusto A. V.|last2=Marques|first2=Fernando P. L.|last3=Negreiros-Fransozo |first3=Maria Lucia|date=May 2002 |title=Postlarval Stages and Growth Patterns of the Spider Crab ''Pyromaia tuberculata'' (Brachyura, Majidae) From Laboratory-Reared Material |journal=Journal of Crustacean Biology |volume=22 |issue=2 |pages=314–327 |doi=10.1651/0278-0372(2002)022[0314:PSAGPO]2.0.CO;2 |issn=0278-0372}}</ref> Beginning at the third crab stage, mature females can be differentiated from males by the large rounded sodomites which make up their abdominal plates and form a cavity to hold eggs.<ref name=":3" /> The carapace length of adult specimens in the ninth crab stage can reach up to 20 mm while the carapace width can reach approximately 18 mm.<ref name=":2" />
== Life cycle == The life cycle of ''P. tuberculata'' is made up of three main stages: the egg, larval, and crab. The incubation time of ''P. tuberculata'' eggs has an inverse relationship to the temperature in which the ovigerous females live, with eggs hatching after 7 days at 26°C, and 80 days at 8°C.<ref name=":7">{{Cite journal|date=January 1996 |title=Life Cycle Studies on the Introduced Spider Crab ''Pyromaia Tuberculata'' (Lockington) (Brachyura: Majidae). I. Egg and Larval Stages |first=Toshio |last=Furota |journal=Journal of Crustacean Biology |volume=16 |issue=1 |pages=71–76 |doi=10.1163/193724096X00298 |doi-access=free |bibcode=1996JCBio..16...71. |issn=0278-0372}}</ref> Larvae are free floating and feed on brine shrimp and small plankton, undergoing regular intervals of molting.<ref name=":3" /> There are two zoeal and one megalopa stage for larval tuberculata, which can be distinguished through analysis of carapace spines and relative width.<ref name=":9">{{Cite journal|last1=Negreiros-Fransozo|first1=Maria Lucia|last2=Fransozo|first2=Adilson|date=1997|title=Larval Stages of Pyromaia Tuberculata (Lockington, 1877) (Decapoda, Majidae, Inachinae) Reared in the Laboratory |url=https://brill.com/abstract/journals/cr/70/3/article-p304_4.xml |journal=Crustaceana |volume=70|issue=3|pages=304–323 |doi=10.1163/156854097X00591|bibcode=1997Crust..70..304N |issn=0011-216X|url-access=subscription}}</ref> In the first zoeal stage the carapace has a singular dorsal spine and the eyes are sessile, whereas in the second zoeal stage there are multiple small dorsal spines and eyes are slightly stalked.<ref name=":9" /> In the megalopa stage, the carapace lacks spines but is larger and more prominently lobed.<ref name=":9" /> After reaching the initial crab stage, it takes approximately 3 months for ''P. tuberculata'' to reach adulthood.<ref name=":4">{{Cite journal|date=January 1996 |title=Life Cycle Studies on the Introduced Spider Crab ''Pyromaia Tuberculata'' (Lockington) (Brachyura: Majidae). II. Crab Stage and Reproduction |first=Toshio |last=Furota |journal=Journal of Crustacean Biology |volume=16 |issue=1 |pages=77–91 |doi=10.1163/193724096X00306 |doi-access= |bibcode=1996JCBio..16...77. |issn=0278-0372}}</ref> There is no clear difference in body size or weight between adult males and females.<ref name=":4" /> Males can begin to reproduce after 47–81 days, while female can reproduce after 62–79 days.<ref name=":3" />
== Life history == ''P. tuberculata'' is characterized by a low number of post-larval stages which results in a shorter life span than other benthic crab species.<ref name=":3" /> This species also has a shorter larval phase, which is common in the Majidae family, and represents a greater degree of ecological specialization.<ref name=":9" /> It has a relatively short developmental stage and can reproduce year round.<ref name=":4" /> The ability of female crabs to carry fertilized eggs days after the puberty molt aids in shorter generation times.<ref name=":8" /> In combination with strategies leading to maximum offspring survival, such as a high larval dispersal area to areas of high oxygen,<ref name=":4" /> the year round reproduction of ''P. Tuberculata'' makes it so three generation cycles may take place each year.<ref name=":3" /> Females of the first generation lay eggs in early spring which reach maturity in late summer.<ref name=":8" /> This second generation releases eggs more quickly due to the warmer average water temperature,<ref name=":7" /> allowing for the third generation to settle and release eggs until early winter.<ref name=":8" />
== Habitat == ''P. tuberculata'' is native to the pacific coast of North America from San Francisco Bay to Panama,<ref name=":6" /> but has spread to coastal waters of Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Japan, and New Zealand.<ref name=":5" /> Larvae float freely in coastal and estuarial waters up to 18 meters of depth.<ref name=":1" /> Adults live hidden among stones or on mud to sandy-mud bottoms up to depths of 412 meters.<ref name=":2" /> Adults and larvae were reported on the Atlantic Argentine continental shelf after previously only being observed in the Atlantic in the coastal waters of Brazil.<ref name=":1" /> ''P. tuberculata'' has now also spread to the western Pacific, as specimens of ''P. tuberculata'' have been found along the southeast coast of Australia in Port Phillip Bay and Newcastle, and along the western coast in Cockburn Sound.<ref name=":5" /> In the northwest pacific, populations of ''P. tuberculata'' have been established in the waters of China and Japan mostly due to naval shipping after World War II.<ref name=":6" />
== Invasive species == ''P. tuberculata'' is considered an invasive species due to its spreading to the southeast Atlantic and western Pacific.<ref name=":1" /> After arriving in Japanese waters, ''P. tuberculata'' has thrived due to its ability to quickly recolonize waters following instances of summer hypoxia.<ref name=":8">{{Cite journal|last1=Furota|first1=Toshio|last2=Kinoshita|first2=Kyoko|date=2004|script-title=ja:東京湾における移入種イッカククモガニとチチュウカイミドリガニの生活史と有機汚濁による季節的貧酸素環境での適応性 |language=ja |trans-title=Life Histories of Introduced Crabs, the Majid Pyromaia tuberculata and the Portunid Carcinus aestuarii, in Tokyo Bay and Their Adaptability to Seasonal Hypoxia Caused by Organic Pollution |journal=Japanese Journal of Benthology |volume=59|pages=96–104 |doi=10.5179/benthos.59.96 |issn=1345-112X|doi-access=free}}</ref> Smaller, native crabs have limited breeding seasons which restrict their ability to compete with the invasive ''P. tuberculata''.<ref name=":8" /> In eutrophic waters such as Tokyo Bay, ''P. tuberculata'' is abundant from the intertidal zone up to 80 meters of depth, with inner-bay populations being replenished each fall with larvae from crabs in the outer-bay, which do not experience the hypoxic die offs.<ref name=":6" /> Populations of ''P. tuberculata'' are limited in the shallow waters of Port Phillip Bay Australia due to predation by globefish.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Food webs of demersal fish in Port Phillip Bay|last=Officer, R. A.|date=1996|publisher=CSIRO Environmental Projects Office|oclc=222170692}}</ref>
==References== {{Reflist}}
{{Taxonbar|from=Q5221493}}
Category:Majoidea Category:Crustaceans of Brazil Category:Crustaceans described in 1877 Category:Taxa named by William Neale Lockington