Morphology of the early zoeal stages of Macropipus tuberculatus (Roux, 1830) (Crustacea, Brachyura, Portunidae)

The first three zoeal stages of the portunid crab Macropipus tuberculatus (Roux, 1830) are described and illustrated from laboratory-reared material obtained from one ovigerous crab captured in the western Mediterranean Sea. Zoeae of M.tuberculatus can be distinguished from other known polybiinid species from the northeastern Atlantic and Mediterranean waters by a combination of meristic and morphometric features, especially by the number of setae in the outer lobe of the maxilla endopod. Larval morphology presents additional evidence supporting the split of the genus Macropipus into the genera Liocarcinus and Macropipus sensu stricto based on adult characters.