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Infestation and morphological identification of the stalked epizoic barnacle Octolasmis on the blue crab Portunus pelagicus from the Red Sea

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Abstract

The intensity of infestation of the epizoic stalked barnacle Octolasmis on the blue crab was calculated for a total of 180 individuals collected around Jeddah, the western Red Sea Saudi coast. More than 90% of the crabs were found bearing the Octolasmis at a prevalence rate of 92% and mean intensity of 18.5 ± 18.6 (0–127 epibiont per host). The intensity of infestation increased with host size in the range 90–135 mm. Generally, females were more infested (69%) than the males (31%). Octolasmis angulata occurred mostly on the gills, and the lower side of the gill chambers was more infested (84%) than the upper side (16%) and the left side of gills was also more infested than the right side in both males and females. Further studies are still needed to examine the commensal relationship and its impact on the fishery market of the Red Sea blue crab populations.

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Acknowledgement

The author appreciates the help of Prof. Mohsen M. El-Sherbiny, Department of Marine Biology, Faculty of Marine Sciences, King Abdulaziz University, Saudi Arabia for great help in identification and also Abdullah Modkhaly for helping in collection and barnacles’ isolation. The author wish to thank Professor Andrew Lawrence (Head of biology Dept, Chester University, UK) for editing the manuscript.

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  1. Faculty of Sciences, Department of Biology, Taibah University, Medina, 344, Saudi Arabia

    Rafat Afifi Khattab

  2. Faculty of Science, Department of Marine Science, Suez Canal University, Ismailia, 41522, Egypt

    Rafat Afifi Khattab

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Afifi Khattab, R. Infestation and morphological identification of the stalked epizoic barnacle Octolasmis on the blue crab Portunus pelagicus from the Red Sea. J. Ocean. Limnol. 36, 1374–1382 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00343-018-7007-y

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