2010/06/15 by C. Becker, Carola Becker, M. Türkay +1 · 2 citations
Environmental Science · Earth and Planetary Sciences · #Crustacean biology and ecology #Marine Biology and Ecology Research #Parasite Biology and Host Interactions
paper · doi:10.1080/00222931003760020
Pea crabs distributed around the coasts of Europe live commensally inside bivalves and sea squirts. Even though just five species are described, their taxonomy is still under development. In order to produce standardized comparative descriptions, pea crabs were collected and studied from different hosts and localities in the Northeast Atlantic and the Mediterranean Sea. Because of the pinnotherids' sexual dimorphism, the male and female are described separately for every species. The common and widely distributed species Nepinnotheres pinnotheres (Linnaeus, 1758) and Pinnotheres pisum (Linnaeus, 1767) are redescribed, while the status of the questionable species Pinnotheres ascidicola Hesse, 1872 Hesse, M. 1872. Observations sur des Crustacés rares ou nouveaux des côtes de France. Ann Sci Nat (Zool), Ser 5., 15(2): 1–50. pl 1–2 [Google Scholar] and Pinnotheres marioni Gourret, 1888 Gourret, P. 1888. Etudes zoologiques sur quelques Crustacés parasites des Ascidies. Bibl Ecole Haut Etude, Sect Sci Nat., 36(3): 1–64. [Google Scholar] from sea squirts and Pinnotheres pectunculi Hesse, 1872 Hesse, M. 1872. Observations sur des Crustacés rares ou nouveaux des côtes de France. Ann Sci Nat (Zool), Ser 5., 15(2): 1–50. pl 1–2 [Google Scholar] from the dog cockle, Glycymeris glycymeris, was finally clarified. According to the morphological analysis, Pinnotheres ascidicola and Pinnotheres marioni are junior synonyms of Nepinnotheres pinnotheres, whereas the status of Pinnotheres pectunculi as a valid species has been demonstrated.