Fecundity of the velvet spidercrab Stenocionops ovata (Bell, 1835) (Brachyura: Majidae) in the Gulf of California, Mexico

The fecundity of the velvet spidercrab Stenocionops ovata from the Gulf of California was determined based on an incidental capture realized in the Gulf of California. Evidence suggested that adult females of S. ovata can produce more than one batch of eggs in a breeding cycle. The number of eggs per brood by S. ovata range from 35,187 eggs to 170,057 eggs with mean of about 94,200 eggs. This species showed lower fecundity than other Majidae of deep water (e.g., Maiopsis panamensis) from the Gulf of California. Partial fecundity was positively correlated with both length of carapace without rostral horns (r = 0.655) and branchial width of carapace (r = 0.617), without a clear tendency of one measure to be a more useful morphometric measure in the determination of the relation with fecundity in this species.