A peer-reviewed open-access journal NeoBiota 39: 79–102Patterns (2018) and traits associated with invasions by predatory marine crabs 79 doi: 10.3897/neobiota.39.22002 RESEARCH ARTICLE NeoBiota http://neobiota.pensoft.net Advancing research on alien species and biological invasions Patterns and traits associated with invasions by predatory marine crabs Cheruscha Swart1, Vernon Visser2,3, Tamara B. Robinson4 1 Department of Botany and Zoology, Stellenbosch University, Matieland, 7602, South Africa 2 SEEC – Sta- tistics in Ecology, Environment and Conservation, Department of Statistical Sciences 3 African Climate and Development Initiative, University of Cape Town, Rondebosch 7701, South Africa 4 Centre for Invasion Biology, Department of Botany and Zoology, Stellenbosch University, Matieland, 7602, South Africa Corresponding author: Tamara B. Robinson (
[email protected]) Academic editor: G. Ruiz | Received 1 November 2017 | Accepted 7 August 2018 | Published 28 August 2018 Citation: Swart C, Visser V, Robinson TB (2018) Patterns and traits associated with invasions by predatory marine crabs. NeoBiota 39: 79–102. https://doi.org/10.3897/neobiota.39.22002 Abstract Predatory crabs are considered amongst the most successful marine invasive groups. Nonetheless, most studies of these taxa have been descriptive in nature, biased towards specific species or regions and have seldom considered traits associated with invasiveness. To address this gap in knowledge, this study presents a global review of invasions by this group and applies biological trait analysis to investigate traits associated with invasion success. A total of 56 species belonging to 15 families were identified as having spread out- side their native ranges. The family Portunidae supported the highest number of alien species (22).