INRTODUCTION

Charybdis natator (Herbst, 1794) commonly known as the “ridged swimming

crab”, belongs to Family Portunidae, a typical group of marine crabs which is widely
distributed across Asia, Australia, and Africa (Wee and Ng, 1995). The family Portunidae
are groups of crabs which are mainly comprised of swimming crabs (Bowling, 2012).
Swimming crabs, such as the family Portunidae, can be distinguished from walking crabs
by the adaptation of some of their legs for swimming, in which the last pair of their legs
are transformed into flattened paddles. The last pair of their legs can act as propellers,
like that of an engine boat, to make them swim well in all directions. They are named
ridged swimming crabs fittingly because of the distinctive ridges on the dorsal side of
their carapace (Marine Life India, 2014). The ridged swimming crabs occurs in depths
ranging from 5 – 40 meters, dwelling on rocky-sand substrates or near coral reefs, and are
distributed in the tropical or subtropical climatic regions. Although uncommon and is not
a major commercially-fished species (Atlas of Living Australia) in comparison to other
more abundant and commercially important crabs, such as the mud crabs (Scylla serrata)
and sand crabs (Portunus pelagicus), the C. natator also contribute to crab fisheries in
India and Asutralia (Sumpton, 1990).

This study aims to determine and describe the reproductive stages of C. natator
from Banate, Iloilo, Western Philippines. The study also intends to identify the monthly
stages of gonad development of C. natator, through morphological and histological
analysis. Specifically, the study aims to determine: (1) the morphological appearance of
the gonads of C. natator at each stage of development, (2) the histological appearance of
the gonads of C. natator at each stage of development, (3) size at sexual maturity of the
crab, (4) the percent occurrence of each gonadal maturation stage, and (5) the percent
occurrence of male and female crabs from September 2017 to February 2018.

The information that will be gathered will be significant for the implementation of
regulatory measures for the management and conservation of the remaining stock in the
wild. There were a lot of studies on the reproductive biology of distinct species of crabs
but there is no or little information known about C. natator, thus, the need for the present
study. The results of this present investigation will also be useful for the brood stock
management in the future hatchery culture of this crab species.