Marine crabs from African waters housed in the Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales (MNCN-CSIC): An opportunity for biogeographic and systematic studies. Part I: Heterotremata (Decapoda, Brachyura)
Zoological collections are the main repositories of biodiversity for specific regions or taxa. However, they often lack promotion and consequently remain largely unknown to the general public or even for specialists. Moreover, many of these collections are at risk of deterioration and, in many case...
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Consortium of European Natural History Museums
2025-06-01
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| Series: | European Journal of Taxonomy |
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| Online Access: | https://europeanjournaloftaxonomy.eu/index.php/ejt/article/view/2915 |
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| author | Isabel Muñoz J. Enrique García-Raso Begoña Sánchez Chillón Jose A. Cuesta |
| author_facet | Isabel Muñoz J. Enrique García-Raso Begoña Sánchez Chillón Jose A. Cuesta |
| author_sort | Isabel Muñoz |
| collection | DOAJ |
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Zoological collections are the main repositories of biodiversity for specific regions or taxa. However, they often lack promotion and consequently remain largely unknown to the general public or even for specialists. Moreover, many of these collections are at risk of deterioration and, in many cases, lack taxonomic review. Founded in 1771, the Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales (MNCN; Madrid, Spain) is one of the oldest Natural History Museums in the world and one of the most important scientific research institutions in the field of Natural Sciences in Europe. The review conducted in this study resulted in an annotated catalogue of marine Heterotremata crabs, documenting 83 species across 21 families from the MNCN collection. It was found that only 21.9% of the specimens had been correctly identified, while 78.1% were either unidentified, identified only to the family level, or misidentified. This highlights a significant loss of biodiversity information and missed opportunities for identifying new species, as many specimens had been inadequately identified for up to 175 years. The review also expanded the known geographic distribution of several species, with the first-time recordings in regions such as Mauritian, Equatorial Guinean, Moroccan, Ghanaian, and São Tomé and Príncipe waters. The study emphasizes the importance of access to zoological collections and collaboration with specialists to enhance our understanding of biodiversity.
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| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-a7f791e1b8b7415d8de38e7e6d5cdcf0 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2118-9773 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-06-01 |
| publisher | Consortium of European Natural History Museums |
| record_format | Article |
| series | European Journal of Taxonomy |
| spelling | doaj-art-a7f791e1b8b7415d8de38e7e6d5cdcf02025-08-20T03:39:06ZengConsortium of European Natural History MuseumsEuropean Journal of Taxonomy2118-97732025-06-01996110.5852/ejt.2025.996.2915Marine crabs from African waters housed in the Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales (MNCN-CSIC): An opportunity for biogeographic and systematic studies. Part I: Heterotremata (Decapoda, Brachyura)Isabel Muñoz0J. Enrique García-Raso1Begoña Sánchez Chillón2Jose A. Cuesta 3Centro Oceanográfico de Cádiz (IEO-CSIC), Puerto Pesquero, Muelle de Levante s/n, 11006 Cádiz, SpainDepartamento de Biología Animal, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de Málaga, Campus de Teatinos s/n, 29071 Málaga, SpainMuseo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales (MNCN-CSIC), José Gutiérrez Abascal, 2, 28006, Madrid, SpainInstituto de Ciencias Marinas de Andalucía (ICMAN-CSIC), República Saharaui, 2, Puerto Real, 11519 Cádiz, Spain Zoological collections are the main repositories of biodiversity for specific regions or taxa. However, they often lack promotion and consequently remain largely unknown to the general public or even for specialists. Moreover, many of these collections are at risk of deterioration and, in many cases, lack taxonomic review. Founded in 1771, the Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales (MNCN; Madrid, Spain) is one of the oldest Natural History Museums in the world and one of the most important scientific research institutions in the field of Natural Sciences in Europe. The review conducted in this study resulted in an annotated catalogue of marine Heterotremata crabs, documenting 83 species across 21 families from the MNCN collection. It was found that only 21.9% of the specimens had been correctly identified, while 78.1% were either unidentified, identified only to the family level, or misidentified. This highlights a significant loss of biodiversity information and missed opportunities for identifying new species, as many specimens had been inadequately identified for up to 175 years. The review also expanded the known geographic distribution of several species, with the first-time recordings in regions such as Mauritian, Equatorial Guinean, Moroccan, Ghanaian, and São Tomé and Príncipe waters. The study emphasizes the importance of access to zoological collections and collaboration with specialists to enhance our understanding of biodiversity. https://europeanjournaloftaxonomy.eu/index.php/ejt/article/view/2915Crustacea diversityzoological collectionstaxonomycrabs |
| spellingShingle | Isabel Muñoz J. Enrique García-Raso Begoña Sánchez Chillón Jose A. Cuesta Marine crabs from African waters housed in the Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales (MNCN-CSIC): An opportunity for biogeographic and systematic studies. Part I: Heterotremata (Decapoda, Brachyura) European Journal of Taxonomy Crustacea diversity zoological collections taxonomy crabs |
| title | Marine crabs from African waters housed in the Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales (MNCN-CSIC): An opportunity for biogeographic and systematic studies. Part I: Heterotremata (Decapoda, Brachyura) |
| title_full | Marine crabs from African waters housed in the Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales (MNCN-CSIC): An opportunity for biogeographic and systematic studies. Part I: Heterotremata (Decapoda, Brachyura) |
| title_fullStr | Marine crabs from African waters housed in the Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales (MNCN-CSIC): An opportunity for biogeographic and systematic studies. Part I: Heterotremata (Decapoda, Brachyura) |
| title_full_unstemmed | Marine crabs from African waters housed in the Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales (MNCN-CSIC): An opportunity for biogeographic and systematic studies. Part I: Heterotremata (Decapoda, Brachyura) |
| title_short | Marine crabs from African waters housed in the Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales (MNCN-CSIC): An opportunity for biogeographic and systematic studies. Part I: Heterotremata (Decapoda, Brachyura) |
| title_sort | marine crabs from african waters housed in the museo nacional de ciencias naturales mncn csic an opportunity for biogeographic and systematic studies part i heterotremata decapoda brachyura |
| topic | Crustacea diversity zoological collections taxonomy crabs |
| url | https://europeanjournaloftaxonomy.eu/index.php/ejt/article/view/2915 |
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