Vol. 38 No. 3, 1999

On the Occurrence of Megabalanus stultus (Darwin), 1854 (Cirripedia: Balanomorpha) in Taiwan: a Reappraisa

Arnold Ross

Scripps Institution of Oceanography, La Jolla, California 92093-0202, USA

Arnold Ross (1999) The sessile barnacles, Megabalanus stultus (Darwin), 1854 and M. ajax (Darwin), 1854 are obligatory symbionts found on actively growing surfaces of milleporine corals. These morphologically distinct species are geographically isolated from one another, with the former occurring in the tropical western Atlantic and the latter in the western Pacific. Contrary to current thought, M. stultus occurs only in the western Atlantic, the type locality for which is herein designated as St. Vincent I. The type host for M. stultus is likely Millepora complanata Lamarck, 1816 whereas that for M. ajax is Mil. platyphylla Hemprich and Ehrenberg, 1834.

Key words: Megabalanus ajax (Darwin), Type locality, Type host, Morphology..

*Correspondence: -