Note on the diet of Lithodes ferox (Anomura: Lithodidae) off Namibia

Abstract

The diet of the deep-water anomuran crab Lithodes ferox was studied from samples taken by trawling off Namibia at depths of around 400 m. Analysis of foregut fullness revealed that feeding frequency was rather low: only 30,3% of the crabs examined had foreguts that could be scored as full. The analysis also indicated that L. ferox preys opportunistically on sessile or slow-moving epibenthic and benthic fauna, such as crustaceans (occurring in 69% of the foreguts), echinoderms (44%) and molluscs (bivalves 48%, scaphopods 34%, gastropods 8%), although fish also appeared often in the gut contents (51%), indicating some scavenging. No significant differences were detected between the composition of the diets of males and females. A tendency was detected for dietary diversity to decrease with size of the crab