Revista de gestión de la biodiversidad y silvicultura

Taxonomic Diversity of Crabs in the National Park of Ehotile Islands and its Adjacent Areas-at Cote Dâ??ivoire-West Africa.

Coulibaly Lèfoungognon, N’ZI Konan Gervais, Bodji Iridjé Marcelle, Ndouba Valentin

The aim of this study is to carry out an initial systematic inventory of crabs in the National Park of Ehotilé Island and its adjacent areas located in South East of Côte d’Ivoire in order to contribute to the knowledge of Côte d’Ivoire crabs. The study was conducted on species diversity, including their taxonomic position, morphological characteristics and geographic distributions. Crabs sampling was conducted monthly from January 2018 to March 2019. The fishing gears and technics used to catch crabs were balance crab fishing, traditional crab traps, fixednet, lobster pots, traps for water crabs and manual catch for land crabs. A total of 25 species belonging into 14 genuses and to 7 families were recorded in all sampling areas. Among these species, five (Cardisoma sp, Sesarma sp, Sarmatim sp, Goniopsis sp, Uca sp) were unidentified and one (Planes minutus) was identified for the first time in Côte d’Ivoire. The present study conducted for the first time in Côte d’Ivoire, is essential for the good policy of management and of sustainable use of this resource in Ehotile islands and its adjacent areas.