Biometric relationships and sex ratio for red-spotted shrimp Farfantepenaeus brasiliensis (Latreille, 1817) (Decapoda, Penaeidae) from the coast of Sergipe, northeastern Brazil

Abstract The goal of this study was to estimate the biometric relationships and sex ratio for the red-spotted shrimp Farfantepenaeus brasiliensis (Latreille, 1817) from the coast of Sergipe, northeastern Brazil. A total of 132 specimens of F. brasiliensis were collected and analyzed (65 females and 67 males) from May 2015 to May 2016. The overall sex ratio did not differ significantly from 1:1. Female size ranged from 20.73-46.43 mm of carapace length (CL), whereas male size ranged from 20.75-32.47 mm CL. Females were larger (34.78±6.05 mm CL, 152.61±19.68 mm of total length (TL)) and heavier (27.45±11.12 g of wet weight (WW)) than males (27.07±2.56 mm CL, 123.77±11.37 mm TL and 14.48±3.98 g WW). All biometric relationships were different between females and males. Both TL vs CL and WW vs TL relationships indicated positive allometric growth. Data shown here correspond to an adult population exploited by local shrimp fleets and are an important contribution to the biological knowledge of this species, especially in northeastern Brazil, where there is no information available.