Natural Diet of the Crab Hepatus Pudibundus (Brachyura: Calappidae) in Fortaleza Bay, Ubatuba (Sp), Brazil

The natural diet of Hepatus pudibundus in Fortaleza Bay, Ubatuba (SP), Brazil, was determined, based on two methods: Frequency Occurrence and Percentage Points. Foregut contents of 219 specimens collected from November 1988 to October 1989 in 7 different areas of Fortaleza Bay were analyzed. Hepatus pudibundus had varied recognizable food categories, in decreasing order: crustaceans, fish, sediment (a facultative scavenger), and molluscs. Other food categories were in low percentage: bryozoans, algae, annelids, foraminiferans, cnidarians, and echinoderms ranked fifth through tenth on the basis of the methods utilized. A significant difference was found in the amount of food in the diet during seasonal analysis (autumn > summer > winter > spring) and among the 7 sampling areas of Fortaleza Bay. We suggest that the crab H. pudibundus is an opportunistic omnivorous crustacean, and is not exclusively molluscivorous.