conditions, and a review of larval characters of Pisidae

Apiomithrax violaceus (A. Milne Edwards, 1868) is a pisid majoid crab occurring in tropical and subtropical coastal waters of the eastern and western South Atlantic. Larval development consists of two zoeal stages and a megalopa. Beginning with the first zoea, the duration of each larval stage at 24‡C was 3–8 (5¡1), 3–5 (4¡0.5) and 9–15 (11¡2) days, the megalopa and first crab instar appearing 9–11 (10¡1) and 20–27 (23¡2) days after hatching, respectively. Larval characters agree with those proposed for the Majoidea, in having nine or more setae on the scaphognathite in the first zoea and well-developed pleopods in the second zoea. However, larvae of A. violaceus do not fit larval pisid features. Zoeal stages differ from most other Pisidae in having lateral spines, a long rostral spine extending beyond the antenna, two spines per telson fork and a dorsolateral process on the third abdominal somite. The megalopa differs in having a spine dorsally on the carapace and on the basial segment of the second pereiopod. Two characters that are potentially unique to Apiomithrax include a zoeal antenna with an exopod that is much longer than the protopod, an