ABSTRACT
A survey of brooding has been done on a population of A.cordatus, living on an intertidal sand bottom of a sheltered bay in Kerguelen, during one year through 13 samplings of adult females.
315 females brooding more than 6.000 eggs and juveniles have been examined. Minimum and maximum lengths of test at first year of sexual maturity are 2,75 and 3,05 cms. The mean number of brooded eggs and juveniles per female is 27,3 ; the maximum observed being 109.
Statistical analysis shows that the females’ lengths and the abundance of their brood are moderately correlated.
It is statistically demonstrated that the separation of the eggs among the four dorsal pouches of the females is uneven.
The reproductive cycle appears to be annual. The first eggs are laid in the pouches at the end of March, the last juveniles depart from the pouches near the end of January.
Among the juveniles, it seems possible to distinguish two populations, according to the developmental state of their spines. The duration of the mean brooding period of an individual, from newly laid egg to advanced juvenile, is 8 months and a half.
