| Abstrakt: |
This paper presents data on 48 individuals of the rare high-boreal crab speciesGeryon tridensKrøyer, 1837, retrieved from the stomachs of cod caught in the southwestern part of the Barents Sea and adjacent waters in 1987–1997. There was only one large male with a carapace width of 58 mm; the other individuals were juveniles with carapace widths of 21–48 mm and masses of 3.2–27.5 g. The length: width ratio of the crab carapaceL=(0.85±0.06)Hand the dependence of mass on carapace width (cm)W=0.4637H2.73atr=0.99 were calculated. Analysis of the data provides evidence that this crab species is expanding its range to the northeast and is sustaining its invasion of the Barents Sea, where it was first recorded no less than 10–15 years. It is concluded that this species now permanently inhabits the region of the Finmarken and Rybach'ya banks, forming rather dense aggregations there, and, on sites of cod catches, it predominantly inhabits depths of 180–320 m, where the warm Atlantic waters dominate and sand-silt bottoms prevail. These bottoms are favorable for the sheltering of crabs, which have a burrowing mode of life. |
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