Presencia de Pontophilus norvegicus (Decapoda, Caridea,Crangonidae) a la costa catalana

Abstract

Presence of Pontophilus norvegicus in the Catalan coast
Pontophilus norvegicus, a caridean decapod of the family Crangonidae, appeared as a result of some experimental trawls made along the Catalan coast. Sexual dimorphism in the form of the second abdominal tergites has been observed. Berried females appeared in March. Their carapace lengths were comprised between 8.1 mm and 11.0 mm. Due to the fact that Mediterranean populations are geographically isolated from those in the Atlantic (the known Atlantic distribution ends in the Gulf of Biscay) and that in the Mediterranean the especies is present in the zone and depths where the lowest temperatures occur (aithough higher than in the Atlantic waters where the species lives), P. norvegicus could be considered as a glacial relict species in the northwestern Mediterranean.