<b>The first finding of Ostrea cf. <i>puelchana</i> (Bivalvia) living as epibiont on <i>Callinectes exasperates</i> (Decapoda)

Abstract

This paper describes the epibiosis of Ostrea cf. puelchana on Callinectes exasperatus (Gerstaecker, 1856), both collected from the estuary of the Paraíba River, in the state of Paraíba, northeastern Brazil. The basibiont crab was captured using a trap installed in mangrove area at a depth of about 2 meters. The oyster was closely attached to the left side of dorsal carapace covering most of the epibranchial, mesobranchial and metabranchial regions. Possible advantages and disadvantages for both the epibiont and the basibiont are discussed. We believe that young O. cf. puelchana may avoid a variety of potential predators due to the considerable movement capacity of C. exasperatus and may also serve as a small protective shield for the basibiont. However, the oyster, which is a bivalve with an epifaunal lifestyle, is likely to be negatively affected, mainly due to burrowing activity of the crab. This is the first record of epibiosis between bivalves of the genus Ostrea Linnaeus, 1758 and crabs of the genus Callinectes Stimpson, 1860.

Some Pycnogonida (Arthropoda: Chelicerata) from the "Paulo Young" Invertebrate Collection (CIPY) of the Federal University of Paraíba (UFPB), Brazil

“…The publication of biological information based on material deposited in the CIPY occurred punctually until the year 2000 (Young & Christoffersen 1984;Veloso & Melo 1993;Melo & Veloso 2005). Papers were produced more systematically since 2008, dealing with diverse groups, such as Crustacea (Riul et al 2008;Rodrigues et al 2009), Polychaeta (Santos et al 2008(Santos et al , 2010(Santos et al , 2011(Santos et al , 2014de Assis et al 2007de Assis et al , 2008ade Assis et al ,b, 2012Brito et al 2013), Echinodermata (Gondim et al 2013a(Gondim et al ,b, 2015Prata et al 2012Prata et al , 2014aPrata et al ,b, 2016, and Mollusca (Dias et al 2013;Lima et al 2013Lima et al , 2017aLima & Guimarães 2015;, include inventories of benthic macrofauna (Gondim et al 2011) and biological associations (Lima et al , 2017b. However, most of the available information has not been published in scientific journals, having been cited only in monographies, dissertations, thesis and congress/conference abstracts, which makes access to this information more difficult for the scientific community.…”

TWO IN ONE: REPORT OF TWO EPIBIONTS GROUPS ON THE Callinectes bocourti A. MILNE-EDWARDS, 1879 (DECAPODA: PORTUNIDAE) FROM THE AMAZON PROVINCE

“…This is widely observed for mollusks and crustaceans (barnacles), and also for other invertebrates and vertebrates (EMPARANZA et al, 2011;GÓNGORA-GÓMEZ et al, 2015). In the commensal interaction, mollusks and barnacles are broadly reported as epibionts in several invertebrate groups such as crabs, sponges, echinoderms, corals, ascidians and in vertebrates adhered in whales, dolphins, manatees and turtles (LEWIS, 1978;LIMA et al, 2017).…”

“…For the attachment in hard bottoms, the individuals present a wide range of morphological and behavioral adaptations, enabling survival in the aquatic environment (WAHL, 2008;DOLDAN et al, 2012). However, in aquatic habitats, hard substrate is limited or it exhibits high competition for space, especially in estuarine and coastal areas, where soft sediments and high levels of sedimentation are common (WAHL, 2008;LIMA et al, 2017).…”

“…The presence of epibiosis in species of the genus Callinectes Stimpson, 1860 was reported by Ganon and Wheatl (1992), Negreiros-Fransozo et al (1995), Key Jr. et al (1999, Santos and Bueno (2002) and Mantelatto et al (2003), especially with barnacles adhered on carapace, chelipeds and ambulatory legs. According to Marin and Belluga (2005), Lima et al (2017) and Alves-Júnior et al (2021), this fixation favors the supply of food for the epibiont, based on the fact that the basibiont is vagile, on the other hand, for the host, it can be harmful because of the extra weight and friction in the water.…”

Biodiversity of carapace epibiont diatoms in loggerhead sea turtles (Caretta caretta Linnaeus 1758) in the Aegean Sea Turkish coast

“…Epibiosis is a relationship between two organisms where an epibiont lives on the surface of a basibiont used as a substrate (Lima et al, 2017). Marine vertebrates (especially whales and sea turtles) are ideal motile substrata for other organisms and are known to host epibiont assemblages (Dodd, 1988;Ernst, Barbour & Lovich, 1994).…”