Annual gametogenic cycles of female mud shrimp Upogebia major (de Haan, 1841) and Austinogebia wuhsienweni (Yu, 1931) on the west coast of Korea
The annual reproductive cycle of two species, Upogebia major (de Haan 1841) and Austinogebia wuhsienweni (Yu 1931), of the female mud shrimp from the west coast of Korea was investigated using histology. The collected samples were divided into adult and juvenile groups to understand the mature period of age class based on the carapace length (CL). Juvenile Upogebia (CL<25 mm) were mostly inactive gonad with early (62%-100%) and late (10%-38%) development stages during the year, whereas the adult shrimp showed a seasonal pattern of gonad maturation (CL≥25 mm). The early and late developmental stages of oocytes were observed in adult Upogebia from November to March and mature eggs appeared from April to October. In adult Ausitnogebia (CL≥15 mm), fully grown oocytes were consistently observed during the study period, in which the ripe stage was found between January and June. On the other hand, most juvenile Austinogebia (CL<15 mm) maintained an immature state in the gonad. Both species of the mud shrimp reproduced from ovigerous females in the adult population and their egg-bearing period was distinguished from January to April for U. major and from July to September for A. wuhsienweni.