Land, Mangrove and Freshwater Decapod Crustaceans of Mayotte Region (Crustacea Decapoda)

Abstract

A documented and illustrated checklist of land, mangrove and rivers Decapoda is proposed for Mayotte region. The study area is situated between longitudes 43-48° E and latitudes 11-13°10’ S. It includes Mayotte Island, Comoros Islands, and Glorioso Islands. Records of the species are from a fieldwork at Mayotte in November 2009, complemented by a literature review. 58 species are listed including 24 new records for Mayotte region. The inventory includes 42 crabs, 11 shrimps and 5 coenobitids ( Birgus latro , Coenobita spp.). Crabs Grapsoidea ( Cardisoma , Geograpsus , Grapsus , Metasesarma , Metopograpsus , Neosarmatium , Pachygrapsus , Parasesarma , Perisesarma , Pseudograpsus , Pseudohelice , Ptychognathus , Sesarmops , Thalassograpsus , and Varuna ) are best represented together with the Ocypodoidea ( Chaenostoma , Dotilla , Macrophthalmus , Ocypode , and Uca ). Shrimps belong to the genera Atyoida , Caridina , Macrobrachium , and Palaemon . Biotopes investigated include rivers, mangroves, estuaries, land, and coastal areas with a special attention paid to Malamani mangrove in the west coast of Mayotte Island. The fauna of Mayotte region is predominantly indo-west pacific in its composition (45 species). Thirteen species are distributed only in the western Indian Ocean, but only one is perhaps endemic to the region. A comparison with the fauna of the Seychelles Islands shows that at least 6 additional species, widely distributed in the Indo-West Pacific, are potentially also present in Mayotte region.