THE LARVAL STAGES OF THE DEEP SEA RED CRAB, GBRYON QUINQUEDENS SMITH, REARED UNDER LABORATORY CONDITIONS (DECAPODA: BRACHYRHYNCHA)

A prezoeal stage, four zoeal stages, and one megalopa stage WE're obtained from eggs of Geryon quinquedens Smith hatched in the laboratory. Each zoeal stage and the megalopa are discussed and illustrated. The commercial potential and abundance of the deep sea red crab, Geryon quinquedens Smith, are discussed by Schroeder (1959), McRae (1961), and Holmsen (1968). The red crab is obviously an important constituent of the deep­ water benthic fauna found on the continental shelf off New England and the middle Atlantic states, and its larvae should therefore occur in considerable numbers in the plankton of that region. Knowledge of the larval stages of this species is apparently totally lacking. Brattegard and Sankarankutty (1967) have described the prezoea and the first zoea of Geryon tridens Rroyer from Norway, but I can find no other reference to the larval stages of this genus. It is the purpose of this paper to describe the larval stages of Geryon quinquedens so that they may be identified in plankton collections and thus facilitate the understanding of the early life his­ tory of this species and hopefully to shed light on its apparently tenuous taxonomic status with­ in the Brachyrhyncha.