Preliminary survey of a nemertean crab egg predator, Carcinonemertes, on its host crab, Callinectes arcuatus (Decapoda, Portunidae) from Golfo de Nicoya, Pacific Costa Rica

By

Okazaki, Robert
Wehrtmann, Ingo S.

Type

Article

Date of Publication

2014

Original Publication

ZooKeys

Volume

457

Pages

367-375

Subjects

Callinectes arcuatus , Central America , crab egg predator , egg mortality

Contributed by

Pensoft Publishers

Language

English

Published by

Sofia, Bulgaria Pensoft Publishers

Identifiers

DOI: https://doi.org/10.3897/zookeys.457.6918

 

Abstract

The possible presence of egg predators in brood masses of portunid crabs from Pacific Central America has not been studied yet. This survey reports the finding of a nemertean crab egg predator on the portunid crab, Callinectes arcuatus, from the Golfo de Nicoya, Pacific Costa Rica. Nemerteans were found in the egg masses of 26 out of the 74 crabs for a prevalence of 35%. The intensity (mean number of worms/ infected crab) was estimated to be 18 with a variance of 1–123 worms/infected crab. No nemerteans were observed either in the 19 C. arcuatus from Golfo Dulce (southern Pacific coast) and the 10 Portunus asper from Herradura-Jaco (central Pacific coast). This nemertean is a member of the genus Carcinonemertes, which has been reported from the Caribbean coast of Panama. However, the encountered Carcinonemertes sp. is the first published finding and report from Costa Rica and Pacific Central America.