https://doi.org/10.4081/nhs.2023.655
Further evidence of the occurrence of the Atlantic blue crab Callinectes sapidus (Rathbun 1896) (Crustacea: Decapoda: Portunidae) along the central Tyrrhenian coast
Submitted: 21 September 2022
Accepted: 17 April 2023
Published: 6 October 2023
Accepted: 17 April 2023
Abstract Views: 688
PDF: 438
Publisher's note
All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.
All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.
Authors
We report evidence of the occurrence of the alien invasive crab Callinectes sapidus along the coast of Latium (central Tyrrhenian Sea, Italy). Original data refer to five adult females found in July 2022 in the Special Protection Area of “Torre Flavia” (Municipalities of Ladispoli and Cerveteri; IT6030020). Indirect evidence was obtained by web sources and personal communications by tourists and fishermen from the same site (including a juvenile reported on February 2023) and from neighbouring localities: Passoscuro (Municipality of Fiumicino), Santa Marinella, and Tarquinia. The Atlantic blue crab appears sparsely distributed along the coast of Latium, although its presence, even if still occasional, might prelude to a concerning scenario in relation to its high invasiveness. The Atlantic blue crab is known to have a severe impact on the invaded habitats, including the transmission of pathogens and parasites. Therefore, further monitoring aimed at collecting data about the distribution and population structure of this species are urgently required in order to develop strategies for the effective control of this non-native crustacean and the mitigation of its impact.
Amori & Battisti, 2008 – An invaded wet ecosystem in Central Italy: an arrangement and evidence for an alien food chain. Rendiconti Lincei, 19: 161-171.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12210-008-0009-5
Angelici C., Marini F., Battisti C., Bertolino S., Capizzi D. & Monaco A., 2012 – Cumulative impact of rats and coypu on nesting waterbirds: first evidences from a small Mediterranean wetland (Central Italy). Vie et Milieu - Life and Environment, 62 (3): 137-141.
Battisti C., Della Bella V. & Guidi A. (eds.), 2007 – Materiali per la conservazione delle aree umide residuali del litorale romano. Provincia di Roma, Stilgrafica, Roma.
Battisti C., Marini F. & Vignoli L., 2015 – A five-year cycle of coypu abundance in a remnant wetland: a case of sink population collapse? Hystrix, 26 (1): 37-40.
Battisti C., Cento M., Fraticelli F., Hueting S. & Muratore S., 2021 – Vertebrates in the “Palude di Torre Flavia” special protection area (Lazio, Central Italy): an updated checklist. Natural History Sciences, 8 (1): 3-28.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.4081/nhs.2021.509
Bisconti M. & Silvi E., 2005 – Prima segnalazione di Callinectes sapidus Rathbun, 1896 (Crustacea, Decapoda, Brachyura) nella provincia di Livorno. Quaderni Museo di Storia Naturale di Livorno, 18: 1-6.
Brusco A., De Bonis S., Giorgio A. & Marchianò R., 2021– Presenza del granchio blu (Callinectes sapidus Rathbun, 1896) nella Riserva naturale regionale Foce del fiume Crati. Biologia Ambientale, 35: 3-10.
Castriota L., Andaloro F., Costantini R. & De Ascentiis A., 2012 – First record of the Atlantic crab Callinectes sapidus Rathbun, 1896 (Crustacea: Brachyura: Portunidae) in Abruzzi waters, central Adriatic Sea. Acta Adriatica: international journal of Marine Sciences, 53 (3): 467-470.
Causarano F. & Battisti C., 2009 – Effect of seasonal water level decrease on a sensitive bird assemblage in a Mediterranean wetland. Rendiconti Lincei. Scienze Fisiche e Naturali, 20 (3): 211-218.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12210-009-0045-9
Cavaliere A. & Berdar A., 1975 – Presenza di Callinectes sapidus Rathbun (Decapoda Brachyura) nello Stretto di Messina. Bollettino di pesca, piscicoltura e idrobiologia, 30: 315-322.
Cerri J., Chiesa S., Bolognini L., Mancinelli G., Grati F., Dragičević B., Dhulčic J. & Azzurro E., 2020 – Using online questionnaires to assess marine bio-invasions: A demonstration with recreational fishers and the Atlantic blue crab Callinectes sapidus (Rathbun, 1986) along three Mediterranean countries. Marine Pollution Bulletin, 156: 111209.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpolbul.2020.111209
Chiesa S., Scalici M. & Gibertini G., 2006 – Occurrence of allochthonous freshwater crayfishes in Latium (Central Italy). Bulletin Français de la Pêche et de la Pisciculture, 380-381: 883-902.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1051/kmae:2006029
Cilenti L., Pazienza G., Scirocco T., Fabbrocini A. & D’Adamo R., 2015 – First record of ovigerous Callinectes sapidus (Rathbun, 1896) in the Gargano Lagoons (south-west Adriatic Sea). BioInvasions Records, 4: 281-287.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.3391/bir.2015.4.4.09
Clavero M., Franch N., Bernardo R., López V., Abelló P. & Mancinelli G., 2022 – Severe, rapid, and widespread impacts of an Atlantic blue crab invasion. Marine Pollution Bulletin, 176, 113479.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpolbul.2022.113479
Coates C. J. & Rowley A. F., 2022 – Emerging Diseases and Epizootics in Crabs Under Cultivation. Frontiers in Marine Science, 8: 809759.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2021.809759
Culurgioni J., Diciotti R., Satta C., Camedda A., de Lucia G., Pulina S., Lugliè A., Brundu R. & Fois N., 2020 – Distribution of the alien species Callinectes sapidus (Rathbun, 1896) in Sardinian waters (western Mediterranean). Bioinvasions Records, 9 (1): 65-73.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.3391/bir.2020.9.1.09
Daban I. B., Özgür C. & Tuncer S., 2016 – Further range expansion of the blue crab Callinectes sapidus (Rathbun, 1896) (Crustacea: Decapoda: Brachyura) in Turkish waters, Northern Aegean Sea: insight into distribution depth. Cahiers de Biologie Marine, 57: 175-178.
Di Blasio L., Santoro R., Ferri V., Battisti C., Soccini C., Egidi A. & Scalici M., 2021 – First successful reproduction of the Chinese striped-necked turtle Mauremys sinensis (Gray, 1834) in a European wetland. Bio-Invasions Records, 10 (3): 721-729.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.3391/bir.2021.10.3.22
Di Martino V. & Stancanelli B., 2021 – Mass mortality event of Callinectes sapidus Rathbun 1896 in a coastal pond of the protect area of Vendicari in summer 2020 (S-E Sicily). Journal of Sea Research, 172: 102051.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.seares.2021.102051
Encarnação J., Baptista V., Teodósio M. A. & Morais P., 2021 – Low-Cost Citizen Science Effectively Monitors the Rapid Expansion of a Marine Invasive Species. Frontiers in Environmental Science, 9: 752705.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.3389/fenvs.2021.752705
Ferri V., Battisti C., Soccini C. & Santoro R., 2020 – A hotspot of xenodiversity: First evidence of an assemblage of non‐native freshwater turtles in a suburban wetland in Central Italy. Lakes & Reservoirs: Research & Management, 25 (2): 250-257.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/lre.12311
Ferri V., Battisti C., Soccini C. & Santoro R., 2021 – First records for Europe of the non-native turtles Kinosternon subrubrum Bonnaterre, 1789 and Pelomedusa olivacea (Schweigger, 1812) in a suburban wetland in central Italy. Herpetology Notes, 14: 303-307.
Gaglioti M. & Mancini E., 2021 – The invasive Callinectes sapidus (Rathbun, 1896) and the native Carcinus aestuarii (Nardo, 1847) along the Latium coast - The essential role of citizen scientists for timely reporting. <https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.14166581>
Gaglioti M., Fiasca R. & Radlo P., 2021 – One more hint from the blue colonizer-Callinectes sapidus strikes again in the Latium coast (Central Tyrrhenian Sea). <https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Martina_Gaglioti/publication/349774073_One_more_hint_from_the_blue_colonizer-_Callinectes_sapidus_strikes_again_in_the_Latium_coast_Central_Tyrrhenian_Sea/links/60414f27a6fdcc9c7812216d/One-more-hint-from-the-blue-colonizer-Callinectes-sapidus-strikes-again-in-the-Latium-coast-Central-Tyrrhenian-Sea.pdf>
Galil B., 2011 – The alien crustaceans in the Mediterranean Sea: an historical review. In: In the wrong place - alien marine Crustaceans: Distribution, biology and impacts. Galil B. S., Clark P. F. & Carlton J. T, (eds). Invading Nature - Springer Series in Invasion Ecology, Springer, Dordrecht, 6: 377-401. <https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-0591-3_13>
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-0591-3_13
Gallitelli L., Battisti C., Pietrelli L. & Scalici M., 2022 – Anthropogenic particles in coypu (Myocastor coypus; Mammalia, Rodentia)’ faeces: first evidence and considerations about their use as track for detecting microplastic pollution. Environmental Science and Pollution Research, 29: 55293-55301. <https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-022-21032-0>
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-022-21032-0
Gennaio R., Scordella G. & Pastore M., 2006 – Occurrence of blue crab Callinectes sapidus (Rathbun, 1986, Crustacea, Brachyura), in the Ugento ponds area (Lecce, Italy). Thalassia salentina, 29: 29-39.
Giacobbe S., Piccolo M. & Scaduto G., 2019 – Forty-seven years later: the blue crab Callinectes sapidus Rathbun, 1896 (Crustacea Decapoda Portunidae) reappears in the Strait of Messina (Sicily, Italy). Biodiversity Journal, 10 (4): 365-368.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.31396/Biodiv.Jour.2019.10.4.365.368
Giordani-Soika A., 1951 – Il Neptunus pelagicus (L.) nell’alto Adriatico. Natura, 42: 18-20.
Grillo G., Sartori G., Battisti C., Ferri V., Luiselli L., Amori G. & Carpaneto G. M., 2020 – Attempted copulatory behaviour between two phylogenetically unrelated alien species (Coypu, Myocastor coypus, and Pond slider, Trachemys scripta): first evidence. Zoology and Ecology, 30: (2): 165-168. <https://doi.org/10.35513/21658005.2020.2.10>
DOI: https://doi.org/10.35513/21658005.2020.2.10
Hill J., Fowler D. L. & Van Den Avyle M. J., 1989 – Species profiles: Life histories and environmental requirements of coastal fishes and invertebrates (mid-atlantic): Blue crab. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Biological Report, 82 (11.100). U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, TR EL-82-4.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.21236/ADA226928
Holthuis L.B. & Gottlieb L., 1955 - The occurrence of the American blue crab, Callinectes sapidus Rathbun. Israel waters. Bull. Res. Counc. of Israel B, 5: 154-156.
Izquierdo-Gómez D., 2022 – Synergistic use of Facebook, online questionnaires and local ecological knowledge to detect and reconstruct the bioinvasion of the Iberian Peninsula by Callinectes sapidus Rathbun, 1896. Biological Invasions, 24: 1059-1082.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10530-021-02696-0
Liuzzo M., Alfonso G., Beli E., Arculeo M. & Marrone F., 2018 – First record of the alien leech Myzobdella lugubris Leidy, 1851 (Hirudinea, Piscicolidae) in the Palearctic. Limnetica, 37 (2): 311-318.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.23818/limn.37.25
Mancinelli G., Chainho P., Cilenti L., Falco S., Kapiris K., Katselis G. & Ribeiro F., 2017 – The Atlantic blue crab Callinectes sapidus in southern European coastal waters: Distribution, impact and prospective invasion management strategies. Marine Pollution Bulletin, 119 (1): 5-11.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpolbul.2017.02.050
Mancinelli G., Bardelli R. & Zenetos A., 2021 – A global occurrence database of the Atlantic blue crab Callinectes sapidus. Scientific data, 8: 111.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41597-021-00888-w
Manfrin C., Chung J., Turolla E. & Giulianini P., 2015 – First occurrence of Callinectes sapidus (Rathbun, 1896) within the Sacca di Goro (Italy) and surroundings. Check List, 11: 1.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.15560/11.3.1640
Manfrin C., Comisso G., Dall’Asta A., Bettoso N. & Chung J. S. 2016 – The return of the Blue Crab, Callinectes sapidus Rathbun, 1896, after 70 years from its first appearance in the Gulf of Trieste, northern Adriatic Sea, Italy (Decapoda: Portunidae). Check List, 12: 1-7.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.15560/12.6.2006
Marangi M., Lago N., Mancinelli G., Antonio O. L., Scirocco T., Sinigaglia M., Specchiulli A. & Cilenti L., 2022 – Occurrence of the protozoan parasites Toxoplasma gondii and Cyclospora cayetanensis in the invasive Atlantic blue crab Callinectes sapidus from the Lesina Lagoon (SE Italy). Marine Pollution Bullettin, 176, 113428.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpolbul.2022.113428
Marini F., Ceccobelli S. & Battisti C., 2011 – Coypu (Myocastor coypus) in a Mediterranean remnant wetland: a pilot study of a yearly cycle with management implications. Wetlands Ecology and Management, 19 (2): 159-164.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11273-010-9208-9
Marini F., Gabrielli E., Montaudo L., Vecchi M., Santoro R., Battisti C. & Carpaneto G. M., 2013 – Diet of coypu (Myocastor coypus) in a Mediterranean coastal wetland: a possible impact on threatened rushbeds? Vie et milieu, 63 (2): 97-103.
Morais P., Gaspar M., Garel E., Baptista V., Cruz, J., Cerveira I., Leitão F., Teodósio M.A., 2019 – The Atlantic blue crab Callinectes sapidus Rathbun, 1896 expands its non-native distribution into the Ria Formosa lagoon and the Guadiana estuary (SW-Iberian Peninsula, Europe). BioInvasions Records 9, 8: 123-133.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.3391/bir.2019.8.1.14
Nehring S., 2011 – Invasion history and success of the American blue crab Callinectes sapidus in European and adjacent waters. In: In the Wrong Place - Alien Marine Crustaceans: Distribution, Biology and Impacts. Galil B. S., Clark P. F. & Carlton J. T. (eds). Invading Nature - Springer Series in Invasion Ecology, Springer, Dordrecht, 6: 607-624.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-0591-3_21
Piras P., Esposito G. & Meloni D., 2019 – On the occurrence of the blue crab Callinectes sapidus (Rathbun, 1896) in Sardinian coastal habitats (Italy): a present threat or a future resource for the regional fishery sector? BioInvasions Record, 8(1): 134 141.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.3391/bir.2019.8.1.15
Prado P., Peñas A., Ibáñez C., Cabanes P., Jornet L., Álvarez N. & Caiola N., 2020 – Prey size and species preferences in the invasive blue crab, Callinectes sapidus: Potential effects in marine and freshwater ecosystems. Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science, 245: 106997.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecss.2020.106997
Scalici M., Chiesa S., Scuderi S., Celauro D. & Gibertini G., 2010 – Population structure and dynamics of Procambarus clarkii (Girard, 1852) in a Mediterranean brackish wetland (Central Italy). Biological Invasions, 12 (5): 1415-1425.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10530-009-9557-6
Scalici M., Chiesa S., Mancinelli G., Rontani P. M., Voccia A. & Nonnis Marzano F., 2022 – Euryhaline Aliens Invading Italian Inland Waters: The Case of the Atlantic Blue Crab Callinectes sapidus Rathbun, 1896. Applied Sciences, 12 (9): 4666.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/app12094666
Stasolla G. & Innocenti G., 2014 – New records of the invasive crabs Callinectes sapidus Rathbun, 1896 and Percnon gibbesi (H. Milne Edwards, 1853) along the Italian coasts. BioInvasions Records, 3 (1): 39-43.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.3391/bir.2014.3.1.07
Streftaris N. & Zenetos A., 2006 – Alien marine species in the Mediterranean - the 100 ‘Worst Invasives’ and their impact. Mediterranean Marine Science, 7 (1): 87-118.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.12681/mms.180
Suaria G., Pierucci A., Zanello P., Fanelli E., Chiesa S. & Azzurro E., 2017 – Percnon gibbesi (H. Milne Edwards, 1853) and Callinectes sapidus (Rathbun, 1896) in the Ligurian Sea: two additional invasive species detections made in collaboration with local fishermen. BioInvasions Records, 6 (2): 147-151.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.3391/bir.2017.6.2.10
Tiralongo F., Villani G., Arciprete R. & Mancini E., 2021 – Filling the gap on Italian records of an invasive species: first records of the Blue Crab, Callinectes sapidus Rathbun, 1896 (Decapoda: Brachyura: Portunidae), in Latium and Campania (Tyrrhenian Sea). Acta Adriatica, 62 (1): 99-104.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.32582/aa.62.1.8
Tricarico E., Junqueira A. O. & Dudgeon D., 2016 – Alien species in aquatic environments: a selective comparison of coastal and inland waters in tropical and temperate latitudes. Aquatic Conservation: Marine and Freshwater Ecosystems, 26 (5): 872-891.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/aqc.2711
Vecchioni L., Russotto S., Arculeo M. & Marrone F., 2022a – On the occurrence of the invasive Atlantic blue crab Callinectes sapidus Rathbun 1896 (Decapoda: Brachyura: Portunidae) in Sicilian inland waters. Natural History Sciences 9 (2): 43-46.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.4081/nhs.2022.586
Vecchioni L., Faraone F. P., Stoch F., Arculeo M. & Marrone F., 2022b – Diversity and Distribution of the Inland Water Decapods of Sicily (Crustacea, Malacostraca). Diversity, 14 (4): 246.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/d14040246
Williams W. D., 1974 – Freshwater crustacea. In: Biogeography and Ecology in Tasmania. Springer, Dordrecht: 63-112.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-010-2337-5_5
How to Cite
Battisti, C., Chiesa, S., Gallitelli, L., & Scalici, M. (2023). Further evidence of the occurrence of the Atlantic blue crab <i>Callinectes sapidus</i> (Rathbun 1896) (Crustacea: Decapoda: Portunidae) along the central Tyrrhenian coast. Natural History Sciences, 10(2). https://doi.org/10.4081/nhs.2023.655
Copyright (c) 2023 the Author(s)
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
PAGEPress has chosen to apply the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC 4.0) to all manuscripts to be published.
Similar Articles
- Laura Farina, I Crisomelidi (Coleoptera; Chrysomelidae) del Parco di Montevecchia e della Valle del Curone (Italia, Lombardia, provincia di Lecco) [Leaf beetles (Coleoptera Chrysomelidae) from Montevecchia and Curone Valley Natural Park (Italy, Lombardy, Lecco)] , Natural History Sciences: Vol. 2 No. 2 (2015)
- Armando Bilardo, Saverio Rocchi, Noteridae, Dytiscidae (Coleoptera) du Gabon (8ème partie). Monts de Cristal , Natural History Sciences: Vol. 152 No. 2 (2011)
- Marco Masseti, Giuseppe De Marchi, Giorgio Chiozzi, Forbidden islands. The absence of endemics among the insular non-volant terrestrial mammalian fauna of the Red Sea , Natural History Sciences: Vol. 2 No. 2 (2015)
- Armando Bilardo, Saverio Rocchi, Haliplidae, Noteridae, Dytiscidae (Coleoptera) du Gabon (9ème partie). Parc National des Plateaux Batéké (missions 2010 et 2012) , Natural History Sciences: Vol. 154 No. 2 (2013)
- Claudio Foglini, Odonata next-door: an updated check-list of two parks in the Northern Milan outskirt (Lombardy, Italy) , Natural History Sciences: Vol. 3 No. 2 (2016)
- Nicola M.G. Ardenghi, Paolo Cauzzi, Alien grapes (Vitis, Vitaceae) in Sicily (Italy): novelties for the Sicilian and Mediterranean flora , Natural History Sciences: Vol. 2 No. 2 (2015)
- Guido Pedroni, Taxonomic revision of Leiosoma cribrum species group (Coleoptera: Curculionidae: Molytinae) , Natural History Sciences: Vol. 5 No. 1 (2018)
- Giovanni Pasini, Alessandro Garassino, A preliminary review of the fossil species of Ranina Lamarck, 1801 (Decapoda, Brachyura, Raninidae), with systematic remarks , Natural History Sciences: Vol. 4 No. 1 (2017)
- Giovanni Pasini, Alessandro Garassino, A new raninoid crab (Decapoda, Brachyura, Raninidae) from the early Oligocene (late Rupelian) of Italy , Natural History Sciences: Vol. 4 No. 1 (2017)
- Andrea Spinelli, Pau Sendín Baquero, Francesco Tiralongo, Westward expansion of the brown shrimp Penaeus aztecus Ives 1891 (Decapoda: Penaeidae) in the Mediterranean Sea: a review on the Mediterranean distribution and first record from Spain , Natural History Sciences: Vol. 11 No. 1 (2024)
You may also start an advanced similarity search for this article.