New record of color morphs of brachyuran crab Charybdis annulata Fabricius, 1798 (Decapoda: Portunidae)

Abstract

Charybdis annulata (Fabricius, 1798) is a common portunid crab species found on rocky shore habitat. It mostly prefers coral reef and algal assemblage area as living and foraging habitats. During the study on brachyuran crab diversity of Saurashtra coast, Gujarat, India, we came across the presence of color polymorphism in the species. Total 62 specimens were collected from the field and two color morphs- orange morph and brown morph were identified. The differences in the morphological characteristic were recorded properly on the basis of detail observation of both the morphs. The orange morph shows specific micro habitat preference while the brown morph utilizes wide range of micro habitats.

Keywords

• polymorphism
• Charybdis annulata
• brachyuran crab
• rocky shore
• Saurashtra coast