<I>Porcellana Sayana</I> Leach (Crustacea: Anomura) Symbiotic with <I>Strombus Gigas</I> (Linnaeus) (Gas
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202 BULLETIN OF MARINE SCIENCE, VOL. 28, NO.1, 1978 cruises were part of the project for quantitative deep ocean fish species. 1. Lipid Res. 12: analysis of benthic fish populations of the Tongue- 331-335. of-the-Ocean supported by NSF Grant GA38834, Phleger, C. F. 1972. Cholesterol and hyper- C. R. Robins, principal investigator. We are baric oxygen in swimbladders of deep sea grateful to J. Staiger for assistance in identifying fishes. Ph.D. Thesis, University of Califor- the fishes. We thank W. Baxter for the use of his nia, San Diego. 113 pp. electron microscopy facilities and R. Metzger for ---, and A. A. Benson. 1971. Cholesterol the gas-liquid chromatograph. R. B. Holtz gave and hyperbaric oxygen in swimbladders of advice on both GLC and EMC techniques. D. deep sea fishes. Nature 230: 122. M. Cohen and N. B. Marshall commented on an ---, and R. B. Holtz. 1973. The mem- earlier draft of the manuscript. Support was pro- branous lining of the swim bladder in deep vided by a grant from the Johnson Fund of the sea fishes-I. Morphology and chemical com- American Philosophical Society, by the San Diego position. Compo Biochem. Physiol. 45(B): State University Foundation, and by NSF Grant 867-873. BMS 75-07850. ---, ---, and P. W. Grimes. 1977. Membrane biosynthesis in swim bladders of deep sea fishes, Coryphaenoides acrolepis and LITERATURE CITED Antimora rostrata. Compo Biochem. Physiol. Amenta, J. S. 1964. A rapid chemical method 56B: 25-30. for quantification of lipids separated by thin- Scholander, P. F. 1954. Secretion of gases layer chromatography. J. Lipid Res. 5: 270- against high pressures in the swim bladder of 272. deep sea fishes. II. The rete mirabile. BioI. Bligh, E. G., and W. J. Dyer. 1959. A rapid Bull. 107: 260-277. method of total lipid extraction and purifica- ---, and L. Van Dam. 1953. Composition tion. Can. J. Biochem. Physiol. 37: 911- of the swimbladder gas in deep sea fishes. 917. BioI. Bull. 104: 75-86. Hinge, R. 1958. The structure and function of DATE ACCEPTED: February 16, 1977. the gas bladder in Argentina sialis. Quart. J. Microsc. Sci. 99: 95-96. ADDRESSES: (C. F. P., P. W. G., and A. P.) De- Hemmingsen, E. 1975. Clathrate hydrate of partment of Natural Sciences, San Diego State oxygen: does it occur in deep sea fish? Deep- University, San Diego, California 92182; (M. H. Sea Res. 22: 145-149. H.) Department of Biology, California State Uni- Hirsch, J., and E. H. Ahrens. 1958. The sepa- versity, Fullerton, California 92634. ration of complex lipid mixtures by the use of silici acid chromatography. J. BioI. Chern. 233: 311-320. Josephson, R. V., R. B. Holtz, J. P. Misock, and PORCELLANA SAY ANA LEACH C. F. Phleger. 1975. Composition and par- (CRUSTACEA: ANOMURA) tial protein characterization of swimbladder SYMBIOTIC WITH STROMBUS GIGAS foam from deep-sea fish Coryphaenoides acrolepis and Antirnora rostrata. Compo Bio- (LlNNAEUS) (GASTROPODA: chern. Physiol. 52(B): 91-95. STROMBIDAE) AND WITH THREE Kabara, 1. J. 1957. A quantitative micromethod SPECIES OF HERMIT CRABS for the isolation and liquid assay of radioac- (ANOMURA: DIOGENIDAE) IN tive free and ester cholesterol. J. Lab. Clin. Med. 50: 146-151. BARBADOS Kuhn, W., A. Ramel, H. J. Kuhn, and E. Marti. 1963. The filling mechanism of the swim- Malcolm Telford and Charles Daxboeck bladder. Generation of high gas pressures through hairpin counter current multiplica- ABSTRACT-During the spring of 1976 we found tion. Experientia 19: 497-552. the porcellanid crab Porcel/ana sayana Leach liv- Kutchai, H., and J. B. Steen. 1971. The perme- ing inside the shells of live queen conch, Strom bus ability of the swimbladder. Compo Biochem. gigas (Linnaeus). An estimated 80% of the conch Physiol. 39(A): 119-123. population of Maycock's Bay, Barbados, harbored Marshall, N. B. 1971. Exploration in the life the crabs, usually only one at a time but some had of fishes. Harvard Univ. Press. Cambridge, two. The crabs were located on the inner surface Mass. 204 pp. of the operculum or close to it. When the foot was Patton, S., and A. J. Thomas. 1971. Composi- withdrawn and the operculum pulled in tightly, tion of lipid foams from swim bladders of two the crabs remained on its inner surface, fully con- SHORT PAPERS 203 cealed and held immovably in place. The relation- mens obtained from S. gigas in the original ship appeared to be highly specific. The S. gigas collection, had a similar sex ratio but in- were living in the same area as the milk conch, S, ('{J,I'latllsGmelin but the latter species was never cluded one small female (3.4 mm). When found to be harboring the crabs. Parcel/ana say- the active conchs were lifted, the porcel- llna was also found in association with three spe- Ianids were seen to be on the inner surface cies of hermit crabs, Petrochirus diogenes (Lin- of the operculum, where they remained un- naeus), Dardanlls venosus (Milne-Edwards), and less disturbed. When an attempt was made Pliguristes grayi Benedict but only when they were resident in shells of S. gigas. Often there was to remove them before the Strombus with- more than one porcellanid associated with a her- drew its foot, the crabs would retire int,) mit crab, the maximum number observed was II. the shell, apparently entering the mantle In the laboratory this particular hermit crab (P. cavity. If they were not disturbed they re- diogenes) transferred to an empty S. gigas sbell and carried all of its porcellanid symbionts with it. mained on the operculum as the foot of the host was withdrawn into the shell. In the fully retracted position the crabs were In the spring of 1976 we collected sev- held immovably and invisibly between the eral specimens of Strombus gigas, the queen foot and the operculum. None of the S. cos- conch and S. costatus, the milk conch, to tatus which we collected harbored these obtain the brachyuran crabs living among crabs despite the fact that the two species their shell epizoites. In the laboratory we of conch were found together and are simi- found the porcellanid crab, Porcellana say- lar morphologically. In the laboratory wa- ana, associated with the queen conch but ter table we never observed a transfer of not with the milk conch. Some of the P. say- the crabs to the milk conch. The relation- ana specimens were found inside the shells, ship thus seems to be quite specific. As usually riding on the elongate operculum. far as we can ascertain this is the first rec- The Strombus specimens were collected in ord of P. sayana as a symbiont of a mol- a gunny sack during a SCUBA dive and lusc. brought back to the laboratory in rather Porcellana sayana is a well known sym- crowded buckets. We were therefore un- biont of hermit crabs. Benedict (1901) re- able to determine whether or not the por- ported that it was frequently to be found cellanids were to be found inside the shells in the spire of a univalve occupied by a normally. Neither were we quite certain hermit crab; Haig (1956) noted that it was that none of them had come from the milk commonly found with Petrochirus baha- conchs although we suspected that they had mensis (= P. diogenes) which is the largest not. To clarify this, we returned to May- of the West Indian hermit crabs; Gore cock's Bay and made another dive in 15- (1970) found it with Dardanus venosus 20 m of water. This time we collected 20 and later (1974) he reported finding it of each species of Strombus and examined with a species of Paguristes and with Petro- them carefully underwater before placing chirus diogenes. We have found it in Bar- them in separate bags for subsequent study. bados associated with three hermit crabs: Sixteen of the S. gigas were found to be P. diogenes, D. venosus and Paguristes harboring P. sayana, two of them were shel- grayi. We noticed that in every case the tering two crabs. Seven of them also housed hermit crabs were occupying the shells of the apogonid conchfish, Astrapogon stella- S. gigas. Porcellana sayana was collected tus (Cope), one of which was carrying eggs in Barbados by the University of Iowa in the mouth. The sex ratio of the crabs party in 1918 (Schmitt, 1924). They ob- was 50:50. Carapace lengths of the males tained a single specimen "... in a Strombus (6.7-9.6 mm) were smaller than those of shell." It was not reported whether the the females (8.8-10.6 mm). All but one Strom bus was alive but presumably it was of the females were ovigerous. Other speci- not, nor was the species mentioned. The 204 BULLETIN OF MARINE SCIENCE, VOL. 28, NO. I, 1978 Iowa party also collected the three species along the spire, and a specimen of Paguris- of hermit crab with which we have found tes grayi (19.5 mm) in a young S. gigas P. sayana but they made no mention of shell. The specimen of P. grayi had two finding any symbiotic porcellanids. Gore porcellanids with it; the P. diogenes yielded (personal communication) has found P. 11 symbiotic P. sayana. Before these were sayana in empty Strom bus shells but not removed, the hermit had transferred to in live ones; he has also found it in these much smaller S. gigas shell (20 cm in shells when they are occupied by hermit length) in the laboratory water table. It crabs. The sex ratios of the porcellanids took all of its porcellanid guests along with which we obtained from hermit crabs were it.