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- Estimating the size of "Uca tanger" (Crustacea: Ocypodidae) without massive crab capturePublication . Lourenço, Rita; Paula, José R.; Henriques, MiguelUca tangeri (Eydoux, 1835) is the only species of fiddler crab that occurs in Portugal, where it mainly inhab-its salt marshes in the south and southwest coasts. Individuals spend most of their time on and around their galleries, bur-rowing structures which they typically create and maintain in muddy substrate. Capturing fiddler crabs in nature is extreme-ly difficult and can be destructive for their habitat. Once disturbed, U. tangeri tend to hide in their burrow, and their capture usually involves the destruction of the upper part of the burrow. In the present study, a method for estimating the carapace length of the fiddler indirectly, using the diameter of the burrow opening, is proposed. Significant sex-specific relationships between the diameter of the burrow opening and the occupant’s length were found. Although the mean length of the cara-pace was not significantly different between sexes,
- A revision of the status of Lepadogaster lepadogaster (Teleostei: Gobiesocidae): sympatric subspecies or a long misunderstood blend of species?Publication . Henriques, Miguel; Lourenço, Rita; Almada, Frederico José Oliveira de; Calado, Gonçalo; Gonçalves, David; Guillemaud, Thomas; Cancela, M. Leonor; Almada, Vitor CarvalhoMolecular (partial mitochondrial 12S ribosomal DNA sequences), morphological and meristic analysis of Lepadogaster lepadogaster lepadogaster, L. l. purpurea and L. zebrina were performed to investigate the relationships between these taxa. On the western shore of mainland Portugal, where the two subspecies of L. lepadogaster occur sympatrically, they differ in microhabitat preferences and their breeding seasons are largely out of phase. This information, combined with data on distribution patterns, led to the following conclusions: Lepadogaster l. purpurea is considered to be a valid species, L. purpurea (Bonnaterre, 1788), different from L. l. lepadogaster, now designated L. lepadogaster (Bonnaterre, 1788). L. zebrina was found to be a synonym of L. lepadogaster. The two newly defined species were found to be in sympatry at Madeira and the Canary islands, the Atlantic coast of the Iberian Peninsula, and the Mediterranean at least as far as Genoa (Italy). Diagnostic characters and a list of synonyms are provided.