Decapod crustacean larval development stages in the Balearic Sea: morphology and taxonomy studies

Abstract

Decapod crustaceans are the main target species of deep water bottom trawl fisheries in the Balearic Sea. Despite their economical and ecological importance, little is known about their larval development, especially in the case of deep-sea species. Information on larval morphology and taxonomy is crucial for the knowledge on the ecology of these species. However, identification of decapod larvae from plankton samples is not easy, principally because the great morphological changes among their developmental phases. In the Mediterranean, decapod larvae studies have focused on morphological descriptions and surface distributions of some groups from near-shore waters, easy to rear under laboratory conditions