BIODIVERSITY OF MARINE DECAPOD BRACHYURANS

The number of species of Decapoda Brachyura in the marine waters of the Americas is estimated to be 1,086. The regions under study extend from the Arctic (north) to Cabo de Homos (south) and include the eastern and western coasts of the continents. Continental shelf species to depths of 200 m (and 300 m in some cases) within fourteen zoogeographical provinces and two subprovinces are considered. A total of 40 brachyuran families are recognized, with the xanthids having the largest number of species. The number of genera is 311. The distribution of brachyurans in the study area shows the same features as the rest of the decapods, with a larger diversity of species in tropical regions, decreasing gradually toward higher latitudes.