Age and growth of Callinectes danae and C. ornatus (Crustacea, Decapoda) in Guanabara Bay, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Callinectes danae Smith, 1869 and C. ornattus Ordway, 1863 constitute an important portion form the fishing products at Guanabara Bay. Both specics compose it significant by-catch fraction being a lot discarded during shrimp trawlings alone Brazilian coast. Growth curves were estimated by modal progression analysis. For the biological parameters it was applied the Bertalanffy growth function and for the age it was used its inverse formula. Growth curves of C. danae and C. ornatus were respectively: male LC = [20 (1 -e (-0.005)), female LC = 113 (1-e (-0.005)); male LC = 94 (1 - e (-0.005)) and female LC = 110 (1 - e(-0.005)). The age for both species reached around 2.5 years, besides to confirm growth curves. Growth study in crusataceans is very important, because besides supplying biological information it subsidizes fishery management for exploted species.