BIOTIC

BIOTIC Species Information for Maja squinado

Researched by

Emily Wilson

Data supplied by

MarLIN

Refereed by

This information is not refereed.

Reproduction/Life History

Reproductive type

Gonochoristic

Developmental mechanism

Planktotrophic

Reproductive Season

Summer - Autumn

Reproductive Location

As adult

Reproductive frequency

Annual protracted

Regeneration potential

Life span

Insufficient information

Age at reproductive maturity

1-2 years

Generation time

Insufficient information

Fecundity

156,000 (Hartnoll, 1963)

Egg/propagule size

Insufficient information

Fertilization type

Internal

Larvae/Juveniles
Larval/Juvenile dispersal potential	1km-10km	Larval settlement period	Insufficient information
Duration of larval stage	2-10 days

Reproduction Preferences Additional Information

Maturity 2 years in the Med (Hines et al., 1995). Main breeding season in south-west England between July - September (Lebour, 1927) and March - Sept in Ireland (Rodhouse, 1984). NE Atlantic in general, females bear eggs between March and October (Ingle, 1997). Time taken to reach the megalopa stage was reported to take ca 1 week in the laboratory (Lebour, 1927). In the Ría de Arousa, Spain, Maja squinado were reported to have moved up to 10.7 km within one month (González-Gurriarán & Freire, 1994). González-Gurriarán et al., (1993) estimated females to produce at least three consecutive broods during the yearly cycle. This is possible due to the storage of sperm which allows consecutive broods without the need for copulation before spawning (González-Gurriarán et al., 1996). In the UK and Ireland, only one brood is produced per yearly cycle (Rodhouse, 1984). In this species, the crabs do not moult again after becoming sexually mature i.e. the terminal moult is the pubertal moult.

Reproduction References

González-Gurriarán & Freire, 1994, González-Gurriarán et al, 1996, Rodhouse, 1984, Lebour, 1927, Ingle, 1997, Hartnoll, 1963,