Carapace width-weight relationship of the mud crab (<i>Scylla tranquebarica </i> Fabricius, 1798) from the waters of Peninsular Malaysia

Abstract

Carapace width-body weight relationships of 300 mud crabs (<i>S. tranquebarica</i>) collected from Terengganu, Johor and Perak state of Peninsular Malaysia between September 2011 and October 2012 were examined. Exponential form of relationship was expressed in the logarithmic form, Log <i>W </i>= Log <i>a</i> + <i>b</i> log <i>L</i>. The male crabs showed positive allometric growth (<i>b </i>> 3) while the females exhibited negative allometry (<i>b </i>< 3) at all sampling locations. Student’s <i>t</i>-test comparing the slopes of the regressions was used to test for possible significant differences between the sexes at each sampling location. Significant sexual dimorphism were seen in samples from Perak and Johor. Covariance analysis within sex indicated that the regression slopes of carapace width-body weight relationship among the sampling locations were homogeneous which suggests that the slopes did not differ significantly as a function of the sampling locations.