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Setal Morphology of the Feeding Apparatus of Three Sesarmid Crabs (Crustacea: Decapoda Grapsoidea) from Brazil

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Abstract

Here, we describe the morphology of the setal types of the feeding apparatus (mandible, maxillule, maxilla, first to third maxillipeds and the cheliped) of three species of sesarmid crabs, Aratus pisonii, Armases angustipes and Sesarma rectum, using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) techniques. The setal types previously identified encompass pappose, plumose, plumodenticulate, serrated, simple, and cuspidate, each with its own distinct subtypes. Three different types of setae are described and named here: capitate, cluster serrated, and scopa setae. The three species’ mouthparts are very similar, but Aratus pisonii has some marked differences, being the only species to have capitate setae on the first maxilliped, base and coxa of the maxilla and maxillule, and mandibular palp, plumodenticulate setae in the mandibular palp and tufts of cluster serrated setae in the chelipeds. Because it is considered the most herbivorous species among those studied, such differences possibly relate to the feeding habits.

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Acknowledgements

We would like to thank Prof. Dr. Maria Lúcia Negreiros-Fransozo for her help and Fernando José Zara (FCAV) for providing material and workspace. To colleagues from the Laboratory of Zoological Systematic (LSZ) - Botucatu and the Laboratory of Invertebrates Morphology (IML) – Jaboticabal for sharing experiences and knowledge.

Funding

This work was financed by Fundação Cearense de Apoio ao Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (FUNCAP) grants #PV1-0187-00033.01.00/21 and #6647309/2017 to WS; Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq) (grant #315185/2020-1 to WS); Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior – Brasil (CAPES) – Finance Code 001 and PROEX (Academic Excellence Program) (fellowships #88887648464/2021-00 to JL; 88887605000/2021-00 to JPP; 88887648412/2021-00 to LML).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Laboratory of Systematic Zoology, Universidade Estadual Paulista ‘Júlio de Mesquita Filho’, Botucatu, São Paulo, 18618-970, Brazil

    Tassia Turini, Francinilda de Araujo Pereira, Janaína Lima, João Pedro Perazzi, Livia Martins Lupino & William Santana

  2. Instituto Federal de Educação Ciência e Tecnologia do Ceará, IFCE, Crato, Ceará, Brazil

    Francinilda de Araujo Pereira

  3. Instituto de Biociências/Museu de Zoologia, Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil

    Jessica Colavite

  4. Museu de Paleontologia Plácido Cidade Nuvens, Universidade Regional do Cariri, Crato, Ceará, Brazil

    William Santana

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  1. Tassia Turini
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Contributions

Tassia Turini: Methodology, Formal analysis, Investigation, Writing - Original Draft. Francinilda de Araujo Pereira: Formal analysis, Writing - Original Draft, Review and Editing. Janaína Lima: Methodology, Investigation, Writing - Original Draft, Review and Editing. João Pedro Perazzi: Formal analysis, Writing – Original Draft. Lívia Martins Lupino: Methodology, Writing - Original Draft. Jessica Colavite: Methodology, Investigation, Writing - Review and Editing. William Santana: Conceptualization, Writing - Original Draft, Review and Editing, Project administration, Funding acquisition.

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Correspondence to William Santana.

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Turini, T., de Araujo Pereira, F., Lima, J. et al. Setal Morphology of the Feeding Apparatus of Three Sesarmid Crabs (Crustacea: Decapoda Grapsoidea) from Brazil. Thalassas 40, 513–530 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s41208-023-00657-z

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