Morphometric measurements of zoeal stages of snow crab, Chionoecetes opilio (O. Fabricius, 1788) (Decapoda, Oregoniidae), from the southeastern Gulf of Saint Lawrence (Canada)

A total of 743 zoea I and II snow crab ( Chionoecetes opilio (O. Fabricius 1788)) were collected in the northwest Atlantic, Canada, in 2012 and 2013. Nine larval appendages were measured for both zoeal stages (410 zoeae I and 333 zoeae II). Snow crab larval morphometric information in the current literature was examined from the Sea of Japan, the northern Pacific, the Northwestern Atlantic, the Barents Sea, and the Kara Sea. Larval size measurements from the present study, conducted at the southernmost sampling location, were compared with those of seven different geographic locations worldwide. Results suggested an increasing trend in the rostro-dorsal spine length with latitude.