.

Abstract

The freshwater crab, Trichodactylus fluviatilis (Latreille, 1828) (Crustacea, Decapoda, Trichodactylidae), as perceived by the inhabitants of the county of Pedra Branca, Bahia, Brazil. Freshwater crabs are key elements of the aquatic biota of streams, rivers, lakes, and dams because of their ecological and economic importance. Considering that Trichodactylus fluviatilis (Latreille, 1828) is an important source of food for the human settlements that inhabit the places of its occurrence, this article records, for the first time, an ethnocarcinological study carried out with the inhabitants of Pedra Branca county, Bahia State. Data were obtained from February to June 2005 by means of open-ended interviews using the usual techniques of ethnographical survey. Sixteen women and eleven men were interviewed. Their ages ranged from 25 to 86 years old. The results showed that the ethnocarcinological knowledge about T. fluviatilis is relatively consistent with academic knowledge. Ethnozoological studies that stress the cultural significance of freshwater crustaceans are very important, since they would represent a great contribution to the debate on biodiversity conservation in the environments these animals inhabit.