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Feeding Habits of Percnon gibbesi (H. Milne Edwards, 1853) in the Sicily Strait

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Abstract

The subtropical grapsid crab Percnon gibbesi (H. Milne Edwards, 1853) is one of the most recent alien decapods found in the Mediterranean, where it was discovered at Linosa (Pelagie Islands, Sicily Strait) in summer 1999. At present, the invasion of this species has been recorded in several other insular localities. We studied the feeding habits of the crab in an attempt to understand its success in the Mediterranean. The morphological characteristics of the chela, the feeding adaptations of the gastric mill and the analysis of stomach contents indicate that P. gibbesi is a strictly herbivorous species, a characteristic not shared with any other large-sized infralittoral Mediterranean crab.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Laboratori di Biologia Marina ed Ecologia Animale, Dip.Te.Ris., Dipartimento per lo studio del Territorio e delle sue Risorse, Università di Genova, Corso Europa 26, 16132, Genova, Italy

    V. Puccio, M. Relini & L. Orsi Relini

  2. Università di Roma “Tor Vergata”, via Tor Vergata 135, 00133, Roma, Italy

    E. Azzurro

Authors
  1. V. Puccio
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  2. M. Relini
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  3. E. Azzurro
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  4. L. Orsi Relini
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Correspondence to V. Puccio.

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Puccio, V., Relini, M., Azzurro, E. et al. Feeding Habits of Percnon gibbesi (H. Milne Edwards, 1853) in the Sicily Strait. Hydrobiologia 557, 79–84 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10750-005-1310-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10750-005-1310-2

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