The Summer Growth and the Ratios of the Breadth to the Length of the Carapace of the Crab, Macrophthalmus (Mareotis) japonicus De Hann

The crab, Macrophthalmus (Mareotis ) japonicus , collected in 1983 from CHojijin tidal flat, southeastern part of Kangwha Island , Korea, was studied. Its caraace breadth, the carapace length , and body height were checked , and the measured raw data were analysed for the growth ratios by the mode subtraction method from the frequency distribution compared with the probability graphs. The growth rate of the crab rose more in summer than in fall and exceeded 10% during the same period on Chojijin tidal flat in Kangwha Island , Korea. Four size groups of the crab appeared in June, 1983 , but they were put together into only on emixed group by autumn. The rapid growth of the crab in summer in middle latitude comes from the seasonal bio-rhythm and the best conditions for food. But the physiological activities of the crab are reduced from autumn and the growth rate reaches the upper limits in many individuals on this tidal flat. The more the crabs grow, the more the breadth ratios to the carapac length become larger and the slopes of correlation curve get smaller. The measured values from the carapace breadth of the crab are more useful for morphological studies than those values from the carapace length or body height.