Abstract
We measured maximum shell diameters and thicknesses of Nerita funiculata Menke and N. scabricosta Lamarck (Gastropoda: Neritidae), and claw sizes and carapace widths of the predatory crab Eriphia squamata Stimpson (Brachyura: Xanthidae), from the Gulf of California (Eastern Pacific). We also tested the ability of E. squamata to crush Nerita shells of various sizes. We compared this data on predator-prey counteradaptations with previously published data for congeneric species from the Western Atlantic and Indo-West Pacific regions. In relative abilities of the crabs to crush gastropod shells, and of the gastropod shells to resist such crushing, the Eastern Pacific species were ‘stronger’ than their counterparts in the Western Atlantic, but ‘weaker’ than their Indo-West Pacific congeners, indicative of an intermediate level of ‘faunal dominance’ or predator-prey ‘arms race’ escalation.
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Reynolds, W.W., Reynolds, L.J. Zoogeography and the predator-prey ‘arms race:’ A comparison of eriphia and nerita species from three faunal regions. Hydrobiologia 56, 63–67 (1977). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00023286
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00023286