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Species Name: 
Menippe mercenaria Say, 1818

Common Name(s):
Florida Stone Crab

Synonymy:
Cancer mercenaria Say, 1818

Species Description:
Menippe mercenaria, a member of the family Xanthidae, is the largest xanthid species in its region (Williams 1984). The Florida stone crab has a large crusher claw with an enlarged basal tooth. The smaller pincer claw has many small teeth that can be used for cutting (Simonson 1985). The adults appear dark brownish-red in color or less mottled with dusky grey spots. The walking legs are reddish with yellow bands. Juvenile appear dark purplish-blue and have a white spot on the carpus when they are very young (Williams 1984).

II.  HABITAT AND DISTRIBUTION 

Regional Occurrence:
Menippe mercenaria occurs on the east coast of the United States from North Carolina to Florida, in the eastern part of the Gulf of Mexico, and throughout the Caribbean to the Yucatan (Ong and Costlow 1970, Wilber 1989, Brown and Bert 1993). It occurs from 0-60 m and is usually found in the subtidal. The Florida stone crab lives in burrows in seagrass beds, oyster reefs and in crevices in rocks (Lindberg et al. 1990, Brown and Bert 1993).

IRL Distribution:
The Florida stone crab is not common in the Indian River Lagoon (Boudreax et al. 2006).

III. LIFE HISTORY AND POPULATION BIOLOGY

Age, Size, Lifespan:
Menippe mercenaria is the largest xanthid species. The males measure 91 mm in length and 129 mm in width. Females are smaller, measuring 79mm in length and 116 mm in width (Williams 1984). Females Florida stone crabs usually spawn at approximately 2 years of age when the carapace measures 2.25-2.75 cm.

Abundance:
When present in an estuary system, the Florida stone crab can occur in large densities (Lindberg et al. 1990).

Regeneration:
Menippe mercenaria has the ability to regenerate claws that are removed as a defense mechanism or by other means including harvesting for human consumption. Observations of the Florida stone crab indicate that these crabs are initially right handed. During regeneration there is usually a reversal of handedness in the crab where the pincer claw differentiates into a crusher claw and the removed claw is replaced by a new pincer claw. In an adult crab the pincer claw is replaced by a crusher claw within three molts. Juveniles readily replace the crusher in one molt. Some individuals of Menippe mercenaria are reported to regenerate two claws o ³70 mm in length in as little as 6 months (Simonson 1985).

Reproduction:
Menippe mercenaria has separate sexes. Spawning usually occurs between April and September. Under laboratory conditions, female stone crabs will spawn several times during a molting period throughout the year (Cheung 1969). In the field, females spawn every month but spawn most frequently during the warmer months from March to September (Sullivan 1979). Menippe mercenaria females carry the spawned eggs under the abdomen. Hybrid populations resulting from the pairing of Menippe mercenaria with Menippe adina are commonly found where these species co-occur (Wilber 1989).

Embryology:
Menippe mercenaria has five zoeal stages and one megalopal stage (Porter 1960, Mootz and Epifanio 1974). In the laboratory, the Florida stone crab develops into the first crab stage within 27 to 30 days with each zoeal stage lasting 3-6 days and one molt per stage (Porter 1960).