Chapter II

REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE AND STUDIES

Related Literature

The group of animals known as crustaceans includes more

than 38,000 species of the subphylum Crustacea. It includes

some of the most familiar such as crabs, shrimps, lobster,

crayfish and woodlice. In addition, tiny crustaceans living

in the seas, ponds, and lakes occupy an important position

in the aquatic food chains. The crustacean is the only

subphylum arthropods whose members are primarily aquatic.

Most crustaceans are marine but there are many freshwater

species. There are some semi-terrestrial and terrestrial

groups, but in general, terrestrial crustaceans had never

gone adaptive evolution for life on land (Rupert and Barnes,

1994).

Crustaceans are generally aquatic and differ from other

arthropods in having two pairs of appendages (antennules and

antennae) in front of the mouth and paired appendages near

the mouth that function as jaws (Gordon, 2017).

Crustaceans are invertebrates belonging to Phylum

Arthropoda and include such familiar groups as barnacles,

crabs, lobsters, water fleas, and pill bugs. In lobsters

and crayfish, appendages called swimmerets occur in lines

along the ventral surface of the abdomen and are used in

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reproduction and swimming. In addition, flattened known as

Uropods form a kind of compound "paddle" at the end of the

abdomen. These animals have telson or tail spine. By

snapping its abdomen, the animal propels itself through the

water rapidly and forcefully; their carapace is much larger

and broader and abdomen is tucked under it (Dillon, 1965).

Crustaceans, like all other arthropods, are so diverse

that no single species is truly representative of entire

group. Most crustacean characteristics have two body

regions; a cephalothorax is fused head or thorax or chest

region, to which legs and other appendages are attached.

The cephalothorax is covered by hard chitin called the

carapace, which protect the body organs. The abdomen has

one pair of jaw like appendages are two pairs of mouthparts

called maxillae that hold food and pass it to the mouth,

have ventral nerve cord, in each body segment, the nerve

cord swells into a pair of ganglia. Lobster and crayfish

are the long narrow tail regions that ends with the central

tension and uropods. Impulses are transmitted from their

body parts through the ganglia. Like most crustaceans, the

crayfish has a pair of compound eyes located above sensory

antennae at the end of movable eyestalk (Dillon, 1965).

All crustaceans have two pairs of antennae at some

stage of their life cycle, and these separates them from all
 13

other arthropod groups such as insects which have only one

pair. The first pair of antennae is referred to as

antennules and the second pair is antennae. However, in

barnacles the antennae are not apparent in adults (James and

Morgan, 1994).

Typically, the body of crustaceans is divided into

three parts: head, thorax and abdomen. The head carries

appendages which are used by the animals for sensing

surroundings and for feeding. The division between the

thorax and abdomen (the edible part of prawns and lobster)

is usually distinct in larger crustaceans but less so in

some small and primitive groups in which the body is called

as rank. Many crustaceans have carapace (shell) which fold

outwards from the upper surface of the body and covers all

or parts of the thorax (Barnes, 1974).

There are about 25,000 different species of crustaceans

and they can be found in all oceans of the world, sometimes

along the shorelines, and freshwater, river, lakes or ponds,

but few live on land. Crustaceans’ flea to the giant spider

crab, their exosketon or outer shell is made up of material

called chitin, and growing crustaceans shed its exosketon in

a process called moulting: underneath is their new covering

that hardens into an exoskeleton (Grolier, 2009).

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The crustaceans are conveniently divided into two

groups of higher taxa: the Entomostracan, those that are

generally small in size; and the subclass Malacostraca,

which comprises all the well-known larger crustaceans. Hence

it is convenient to use a member of that subclass to detail

the anatomy and physiology of the crustaceans (Lockwood,

1967).

Most crustaceans are dioecious. The actual mechanism by

which fertilization is achieved varies greatly. Some

crustaceans hatch young that are like miniature adults

(Pears et al., 1987).

The most widespread group of invertebrates, the larger

Malacostracan crustaceans like crabs, lobsters and prawns

are economically valuable. Although originally aquatic, many

crustaceans such as slaters and beach hoppers are adopted to

life on land and also, frequently the sea at all depths

(Invertebrates, 1996).

In common with other arthropods, crustaceans have stiff

skeletons which must be shed to allow the animal to grow.

Various parts of the skeleton may be fused together, which

is noticeable in the carapace. Crustaceans appendages are

typically bigamous, meaning they are divided into two parts

(Barnes, 1974).
 15

Higher crustaceans have separate sexes and occasionally

display sexual/dimorphis for example, female fiddle crabs

have a larger pincer, and male shrimps remains smaller than

female. Crustacean function as scavengers on the fish used

as bait for fish, crabs, lobsters, prawns, shrimps and

crayfish can be cooked and eaten (Camberlidge, 1993).

There are as many as 150,000 species of crustaceans,

mostly undiscovered. Most are marine whereas insects are by

far dominant from the familiar to the not so familiar

(Conniff, 1999).

Crustaceans differ from the other living arthropods in

two ways. They have two parts of antennae, whereas all

other arthropods have one pair or none. Crustaceans possess

bigamous appendages, each of which ramous is the endpoint,

and the lateral structures, which is evidence that the

trilobites were closely related to ancestral crustaceans

(Harley and Miller, 2005).

All crustaceans have a hard exoskeleton, which protects

the animal from predators and prevents water loss. However,

exoskeleton cannot grow as the animal inside them grows, so

crustacean is freed to molt as they grow larger. During

molting, a soft exoskeleton is shed. Since the new

exoskeleton hardens the external shell, in addition to being

 16

protective gives rigid support for the attachment of the

muscles. The exoskeleton made up of separated plates

connected by thin members (www.crustacean.com,2015).

The classification of crustaceans is currently being

debated, and the Malocostraca are regarded by some authors

as a class and by others as subclass species. The

characteristics include; the head has 6 segments, with a

pair of antennules and a pair of antenna, as well as mouth

parts; five pairs of walking legs with the first often

modified form as pincers; there are 8 thoracic segments;

the cephalothorax is covered by a carapace; the abdomen is

behind and often used for swimming; there are six abdominal

segments; there are appendages near, the mouthparts called

maxillipeds; have compound stalked or sessile eyes; have

two-chambered stomach; and they have centralized system

(Martin and Davis, 2001).

Despite their diversity in form, crustaceans are

united by the special larvae form known as the nauplius.

Although few are hermaphroditic, most crustaceans have

separate sexes which are distinguished by appendages on the

abdomen called pleopods or swimmerets. The first pair of

pleopods is specialized in the male for sperm transfer.

Many terrestrial crustaceans mate seasonally and return to

the sea to release eggs. Others, such as woodlice, lay

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their eggs on land especially in damp condition. In many

decapods, these are retained by the female until they are

hatched into free swimming larvae (Ingenmann and Mcgner,

1981).

Crabs, barnacles, lobsters, and other crustaceans got

their name because they have a hard yet flexible "crust"

but so do are all arthropods. Out of their abundant number,

some of the 35,000 species live in freshwater that they

have been dubbed as the insects of the seas. Lobsters and

crabs are "giants" of this subphylum; most crustaceans are

less than a few centimetres long. All have major roles in

food webs and humans harvest many edible types (Starr and

Taggart, 2004).

With over 20,000 species, the crustaceans include many

animals used by humans as foods such as crayfish, lobsters,

crabs and shrimps. Barnacles and Daphnia, the water flea,

are also crustaceans. Most crustaceans are marine, although

some live in freshwater. Some bugs are among the few

terrestrial crustaceans. Its body is divided into a

cephalothorax and an abdomen. The cephalothoraxes are

divided by a single piece of exoskeleton called the

carapace. In crustaceans, exoskeleton contains calcium and

other minerals in addition to chitin. The minerals make the

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shell particularly hard and flexible (Mclaren and Rotundo,

1999).

The classification of crustaceans has been quite

variable. The system used by Martin and Danis is the most

authoritative, which largely supersedes earlier works. Six

classes of crustaceans are generally recognized: 1)

Branchiopoda includes brine shrimp (Artemia) and Triops

(Notostraca); 2) Renipedia, a small class restricted in

deep caves connected to salt water called water anchialine

caves; 3) Cepalochorida, the hoeshoe shrimp; 4) Maxilopoda,

a group that include barnacles and copepods and contains

Mystacoarida and Branchiura which are sometimes treated as

their own classes; 5) Ostracoda, small animals with bivalve

shell; and 6) Malocostraca, the largest class with the most

familiar animals including decapods such as crabs, lobsters

and shrimps, stomapods, the mantis shrimps and krill

(Shrimp like) (Martin and Davis, 2001).

They also include the amphipods and the only

substantial group of land-based crustacean, the isopods

(woodlice and related species). With more than 22,000

members, these groups represent two-thirds of all

crustacean species and contain all the larger forms (Martin

and Davis, 2001).

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Crustaceans characteristically have two pairs of

antennae, a pair or mandibles and two pairs of maxillae.

But their other appendages vary greatly from group to

group, and, whatever could be said about that one group

such as crayfish and lobsters, would have like relevance to

those other groups. The crustaceans are an enormously

diverse assemblage of animals that can hardly be

characterized in any simple way. Some have a head

cephalothorax and an abdomen; others have head and a trunk,

or a head and thorax, and abdomen, or even a unified body.

Most are active swimmers but some, like barnacles, secrete

shell and are sedentary. The majority is marine, but there

are many freshwater species, and few, such a saw bugs, are

terrestrial and have a simple trachea system (Keeton and

McFadden, 1995).

Crabs may become covered with marine growths, algae,

sponges or barnacles and some pick off the attached lairs

of sponge to the shell. In one kind of hermit in a snail

shell, sponge (suberites) grows over and dissolves the

shell, leaving the crabs encased in the sponge as a shelter

(Storer et al., 1979).

Other arthropods are important to humans which

includes silkworm, spin the thread to make silk fabric.

Crab shells, yield chitin, used to make surgical thread and

 20

dressing for wounds. Horseshoe crab blood is used for

testing the purity of pharmaceuticals and laboratory

equipment: Arthropods are very essential like shrimps,

lobsters and cray fish (Lisowski and Strauss, 2003).

Crustaceans are modified for wide variety of habitats

and ways of life. They are important in the food chain,

partly because so many of them eat small plants and

animals. Many strains small particles of food from the

water. But, the larger crustaceans, such as shrimps and

crabs, are often omnivores, sea avengers, or predators.

Several species are also parasites. Crustaceans are

consumed by many animals, including humans, and are rich in

protein (http;// Encarta.msn.com//crustacean.html, 1990).

In general, a crustacean is arthropod with

representative species from both terrestrial and aquatic

environments. However, the group is predominantly marine

These invertebrates are important faunistically and

ecologically because of the diversity species and the

variety of riches they occupy. They contain a sizable number

of commercial species which are used as human food, while

other are indirect but not significant role, in terms of

human economy of the reef, the crustacean doubles occupy a

position of significant being an important factor in the

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food supply of associated organism that are used for food

(Garcia, 1983).

According to the most zoologist today there are four

main lives of arthropod evolution and each of which is

created as a subphylum. These lives are believed to be

represented by the extinct Tribobita, the (helicerata,

containing the scorpions, spiders, and mites); the

crustacean, containing the copepod, barnacle, shrimps,

lobster, and insects (Barnes, Ruperts, 1994).

The Crustaceans are one of the largest and dominant

group of organisms found in most of the ecosystems in the

marine environments of tropical and subtropical area. The

important crustaceans such as lobster, shrimps and crabs are

found in the coastal areas of coral reef, seagrass beds,

rocky and sandy shores as well as in the offshore areas. the

survey conducted in North Andaman on diversity and community

structure of Brachyuran crabs revealed 47 species of 24

genera belonging to 10 families (Kumaralingan et al., 2013).

Related Studies

Acibar (2010) stated in his study about crustaceans in

selected barangays of San Antonio Northern Samar that there

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were 20 crustaceans' species collected in the four barangays

of San Antonio, Northern Samar. These 20 species belonged to

ten (10) Families, namely: Alphedae, (with 1 species);

Calappidae, (with 1 species); Dioginidae, (with 1 species)

Gonodacthylidae, (with 2 species), Grapsidae, (with 1

species) leucosidae, (with 1 species) Ocypodidae, (with 2

species); Portunidae, (with 3 species), Pilurninidae, (with

1 species); Xanthidae, (with 7 species). The result of the

study showed a total of twenty (20) crustacean species

representing eighteen (18) genera and ten (10) families. The

most abundant species was Grapus adholineatus, followed by

Thalamita ceoroleipis, and the least dense was Calappa

hepatica and Leucosia pubescens with an equal abundance.

As stated by Baliao (1971), crustaceans like crabs and

lobsters are very abundant at early time. They can be seen

in unlimited size and composition in seashores, rivers and

shoreline. As of now, in experimental surveys and

observations made, there are reports of species loss in 77%

of their population through migration and over-catching of

man.

Bartocillo et al., (2017), conducted a study in the

Olango Island Wildlife Sanctuary in the Philippines that is

teeming with fiddler crabs. However, to date no published

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studies have verified the identity of these populations. The

fiddler crabs in the sanctuary were observed to be situated

in a distinct location. Studies suggest that ecological

factors such as substrate can play role in the distribution

of the fiddler crabs. A total of 385 fiddler crabs were

collected and accounted from four distinct sites. Discrete

morphological characters and four morphometric measurements

for Uca species were used for species identification. Type

of substrate were observed and noticed. Results revealed the

presence of five fiddler crab species in the sanctuary

namely; Uca annulipes, Uca crassipes, Uca perflexa, Uca

tetragonon, and Uca vocans. Distribution of the five species

appeared to be influenced by substrate type. Uca crassipes

were abundant in the limestone areas with a little or no

presence of sand while Uca perplexa, Uca tetragonon and Uca

vocans were mostly seen in the areas with high volume of

sand and mud. Lastly, Uca annulipes were plentiful in the

limestone areas with a low-moderate volume of sand. The

investigation revealed that the distribution of the species

appeared to be influenced by the substrate type.

Cantong, J.A. (2019) in his study of Crustacean species

in Hirapsan Island, Mondragon Northern Samar. He concluded

that there were fourteen (14) Crustaceans found on the said

Island. The most abundant crustacean was Thalamita danea

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having a total of (21)individuals, Thalarnita pryrna

individuals, Eriphia sebana (8) individuals, Ocypode

ceratopthalmus (7) individuals, Pilumnus riticulatos and

Atergatis floridus having (6) indiviiduals, Thalamita

crenata, Pilmunus reticulatus and Xantho hydrophilus having

(5) individuals, Actaeodes tomentosus, Zosimus aeneus, and

Acteodes hirsutissimus having (4) individuals, Aterga tis

integerrimus having (3) individuals and the least abundant

crustacean was Macrobrachium rosenbergii with only (1)

individual.

The young of marine crustaceans generally pass through

one or more larval stages that are quite unlike the adult

form. Often the larvae swim in open water to find a place to

live. Freshwater and terrestrial crustaceans skip the larval

stage, except for those that return to the sea to spawn.

After fertilization, the developing eggs are generally cared

for by the mother until they have reached the larval or post

larval condition. Otherwise, little parental care exists

among crustaceans. Some live in male or female or are

gregarious, but they do not form well organized societies.

The smallest crustaceans live just for days, but the largest

one may live for decades (Crustacean, 2003).

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The most abundant today are four main lives of

arthropod evolution and each of which is created as a

subphylum. These lives are believed to be represented by the

extinct Trilobita, the (helicerata, containing the

scropions, spiders, and mites); the crustacean, containing

the copepod, barnacle, shrimps, lobster, and insects (Barnes

& Ruperts, 1994).

In the study of De Asis (2009), there are a total of 24

species of crustaceans found in three selected coastal

barangays of Mondragon, Northern Samar. Family Portunidae

being the most abundant, such as; Thalamita prymna,

Portunus pelagicus, Portunus granulatus, Thalamita danae,

Portunus innominatus, and Padopthalmus vigil, and the least

being the Family Xanthidae.

Ensinas Jr. (2004) determined the different species and

abundance of crustaceans in the intertidal zone of Barangay

Urdaneta, Lavezares, Northern Samar from October, 2003 to

January, 2004. The study revealed 18 crustacean species

belonging to 10 families, namely; Xanthidae (with 5

species), Calappidae (1 species), Gonoductylidae (1

species), Grapsidae (2 species), Majidae (1 species),

Mennipidae (1 species), and Portunidae (2 species). By

abundance count, Thalamita crenata had the highest relative

 26

abundance followed by Thalamita coeruleipes. The least dense

was Menaethius monocerus of the 18-crustacean species, five

were considered edible by the local inhabitants of the study

area.

As stated by Infante (2009), there is a total of 39

species of crustaceans identified in Barangay Langob,

Laoang, Northern Samar during the period of study from

April-June 2008. These 39 species belong 16 families,

namely; Majidae (7), Potunidae (7), Xanthidae (8), Grapsidae

(13), Paguridae (2), Scyllaridae (2), Sergestidae (1),

Palamonidae (1), Stenopidae (1), Hippolytidae (1),

Calappidae (1), Cancridae (1), and Dorripidae (1).

As stated by Kariathil et al., (2010) 51 species

belonging to 33 genera of brachyuran crabs, 18 species of

hermit crabs belonging to 8 genera, 48 shrimps and 63

stomatopods were recorded. The major brachyuran family

include Portunidae, Zanthidae, Ocypodidae, Grapsidae and

others were Leucossidae, Grapsidae, and Mictyridae. The

major genera of brachyuran crabs were Thalamita, Charybdis,

Atergatis, Ocypode, Uca, Grapsus, Carpilius, Pilumnus,

Doclea, Matuta and Calapa.

Lebrino (2008) in the study on Inventory Assessment of

Crustaceans in Barangay Nipa, Palapag, Northern Samar. The

 27

result of his study revealed 16 crustacean species in

earangay Nipa. These belong to 11 families: Xanthidae with 4

species, namely: Carpilus maculatus, Gyno melanodactyl,

Zosimtus aeneus, Zosimus sp., Portunidae with 2 species,

namely: Padothalmus vigil and Thalamita crenata; Ocypodidae

with 2 species, namely: Ocypode cordimana, and Uca

pugilator; Grapsidae with only 1 species; Grapsu

tenuicrustatus; Majedae, 1 species; Schizophrys aspera;

Clappidae, 1 species; Calappa hepatica; Gecarcinidae, 1

species; Trachyperanaeus pulvus; and Palinuridae, 1

species; Panulirus versicolor, respectively.

Quinitio and Parado-Estepa (2000) conducted studies on

simulated transport of mud crab zoeae and megalopae. They

found that the optimal loading densities were: 10 x 103

individuals per liter for zoeae and 50 individual per liter

for megalopae. These densities should be used during

transport for subsequent stocking in nursery ponds.

Villacortes (2004) conducted a taxonomic study of

freshwater crustaceans in Galutan River, Catarman, Northern

Samar which identified six species of crustaceans belonging

to three families of Order Decapoda and three genera of

Macrobrachium.
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