CAMARON BOCÚ
Macrobrachium spp.
Identification and Behavior
- For Macrobrachium,
the legs are modified to captureaprey.
- Adults range up to 12 inches body length.
- Color pattern depends on the species and the
individual.
- Five species of this family can be found at El Yunque.
- Reproductive
pattern similar to Atya; the freshwater
shrimp of the Caribbean is characterized by amphidromy, where downstream
migration of one or more life stages is required.
- Important as a traditional fishery.
SALPICHE, PIQUINES
Xiphocaris elongata
Identification and Behavior
- Endemic to the West Indies.
- Normally feeds on decomposing vegetation such as leaf
litter, and particles of algae. First two pairs of legs are used to “grab” the
food and place it in the mouth.
- Color range from grayish to transparent, with a very
thin and smooth exoskeleton.
- It has a large spine (rostrum) in the front of the head
that varies in size, being longer when predatory fish are present in the stream.
- Reproductive pattern similar to Atya and Macrobrachium.
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BURUQUENA
Epilobocera
sinuatifrons
Identification and Behavior
- The only
freshwater crab in the island; endemic.
- Shells in adults
range up to about 5 inches across.
- Color ranges from
dark brown to nearly coffee, often with yellow spots on the joints in the legs
and claws.
- Juveniles, live entirely
in freshwater, are spotted brown in color, and can be as large as adults but
considerably heavier.
- Unlike most crabs,
which release larvae that undergo metamorphosis, larval stages are completed
entirely within the eggs prior to hatching.
GUÁBARA
Atya spp.
Identification and Behavior
- Modified legs with brush-like structures on the tips. The
members of this family, Atyidae, are filter feeders.
- 7 species of this family are found in El Yunque.
- Adults range up to about 5 inches in body length.
- Color ranges from
black to nearly olive green, often with yellow stripes the joints of the legs.
- Adults reproduce in the upper parts of the stream, where
they release larvae which then move downriver towards the estuaries (river
mouths).
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