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Vol. 63, 2024
(update: 2024.8.13)
Rediscovery of Mesotheres unguifalcula
(Glassell, 1936) (Crustacea: Brachyura: Pinnotheridae) with Remarks on
the Symbiotic Relationship with its New Host, the Spindle Sea Snail Leucozonia cerata (W. Wood, 1828) (Mollusa: Gastropoda: Fasciolariidae)
Jesús G. Padilla-Serrato1,2, Leslie D. Soriano-Honorato1, J. Gabriel Kuk-Dzul1, Rafael Flores-Garza1, Carmina Torreblanca-Ramírez1, and Ernesto Campos3,*
doi:-
1Facultad
de Ecología Marina, Universidad Autónoma de Guerrero, Av. Gran Vía
Tropical No. 20, Frac. Las Playas, Acapulco, Guerrero, México. E-mail:
jgpadillas@hotmail.com (Padilla-Serrato); 11139152@uagro.mx
(Soriano-Honorato); josekuk@gmail.com (Kuk-Dzul);
rfloresgarza@yahoo.com (Flores-Garza); carminatorreblanca@yahoo.com.mx
(Torreblanca-Ramírez)
2Investigadoras e
Investigadores por México-Consejo Nacional de Humanidades, Ciencias y
Tecnologías (Conahcyt), Av. Insurgente Sur 1582, Col. Crédito
Constructor, Alcaldía Benito Juárez, C.P. 03940, Ciudad de México.
E-mail: jgpadillas@hotmail.com (Padilla-Serrato)
3Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad Autónoma de Baja
California, Ensenada, Baja California, México. *Correspondence: E-mail:
ecampos@uabc.edu.mx (Campos)
(Received 2 April 2024 / Accepted 19 July 2024 / Published -- 2024)
Communicated by Jen-Pan Huang
The symbiotic pinnotherid crab Mesotheres unguifalcula was rediscovered in Acapulco Guerrero, Mexico, and was found infesting the spindle sea snail Leucozonia cerata
(Fasciolaridae), a new host record for this crab. A total of 432 snails
were collected in 2020, with a prevalence of 77%, well explained by the
host width frequency. Monthly prevalence varied from 54% to 90%, and
the mean intensity was 1.4 +/- 0.5 crabs per host. The sex ratio of
snails was 1:1, and the crab did not prefer to infest males or females.
The sex ratio of the crabs was positively skewed towards females. Crabs
may infest small to large snails; however, most infested snails range
between 20 and 40 mm in width. Prevalence increases with the host size,
smaller than 30 mm, averaging 53% infestation, while those from 30 mm
to 52 mm represented 82 to 100% infestation. The number of crabs by
host varied from 1 to 3; solitary females and males were dominant
(51%), followed by heterosexual couples (24%) and other combinations
that included homosexual couples and triads, which barely represented
2%. Although there are many heterosexual couples, monogamy is ruled out
due to the higher number of solitary males and females and the lower
number of heterosexual couples compared to those statistically
expected. The available evidence about the life history of Mesotheres unguialcula,
like for another studied species of the subfamily Pinnotherinae sensu
stricto, suggests a pure-search polygynandry of sedentary females as
its mating system (i.e.,
larger, solitary, and sedentary females, and smaller males who, in
reproductive season, are roaming from one host to another in search of
females receptive to copulation).
Key words: Symbiosis, Prevalence, Host use pattern, Pinnotheridae, Crustacean
Citation:
Padilla-Serrato JG, Soriano-Honorato LD, Kuk-Dzul JG, Flores-Garza R,
Torreblanca-Ramírez C, Campos E. 2024. Rediscovery of Mesotheres unguifalcula
(Glassell, 1936) (Crustacea: Brachyura: Pinnotheridae) with remarks on
the symbiotic relationship with its new host, the spindle sea snail Leucozonia cerata (W. Wood, 1828) (Mollusa: Gastropoda: Fasciolariidae). Zool Stud 63:44.
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