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Interesting Images

The Spotted Cleaner Shrimp, Periclimenes yucatanicus (Ives, 1891), on an Unusual Scleractinian Host

1
Instituto de Investigaciones Marinas y Costeras (IIMyC), Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales (FCEyN), Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata (UNMdP)—Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Tecnológicas (CONICET), Laboratorio de Biología de Cnidarios (LABIC) (FCEyN), Rodríguez Peña 4046, Mar del Plata CC 1260. 7600, Argentina
2
Molecular Invertebrate Systematics and Ecology Laboratory, Faculty of Science, University of the Ryukyus, Senbaru 1, Nishihara, Okinawa 903-0213, Japan
3
Tropical Biosphere Research Center, University of the Ryukyus, Senbaru 1, Nishihara, Okinawa 903-0213, Japan
4
Unidad Multidisciplinaria de Docencia e Investigación en Sisal, Facultad de Ciencias, UNAM, Puerto de Abrigo, Sisal, Hunucmá C.P. 97356, Yucatán, Mexico
5
International Chair of Coastal and Marine Studies in Mexico, Harte Research Institute, Texas A&M at Corpus Christi, TX 78412, USA
6
Laboratorio Nacional de Resiliencia Costera (LANRESC), Sisal, Hunucmá C.P. 97356, Yucatán, Mexico
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Submission received: 30 October 2019 / Revised: 6 November 2019 / Accepted: 8 November 2019 / Published: 12 November 2019
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Diversity of Coral-Associated Fauna)
The spotted cleaner shrimp, Periclimenes yucatanicus (Ives, 1891), forms symbioses with sea anemones that may serve as cleaning stations for reef fishes [1]. This Caribbean palaemonid shrimp has usually been reported in symbiotic association with several species of actiniarian hosts, such as Condylactis gigantea (Weinland, 1860) and Bartholomea annulata (Le Sueur, 1817), or even with some corallimorpharians and a scyphozoan jellyfish [2]. During a field survey at Alacranes coral reef (26 June 2016; 22°27.14’ N, 89°45.79’ W; 13 m depth) on the Campeche Bank, Yucatán Peninsula, México, two spotted shrimps were observed swimming and walking above the polyps of the head coral Montastraea cavernosa (Linnaeus, 1767). Because none of the usual hosts of P. yucatanicus were detected nearby, we hypothesize that the shrimps were using the scleractinian coral as a host. Some other shrimp species commonly associated with actiniarians were previously reported to be living on stony corals, such as Ancylomenes holthuisi (Bruce, 1969) on Heliofungia actiniformis (Quoy and Gaimard, 1833) in New Guinea [3], and Periclimenes rathbunae Schmitt, 1924 on Dendrogyra cylindrus Ehrenberg, 1834 in Curaçao [4]. The observation (see Figure 1) of Montastraea cavernosa hosting Periclimenes yucatanicus is the second report of a palaemonid shrimp in association with a scleractinian coral in the Atlantic Ocean. The ecological implications of this association are unknown but could be related to a low local availability of usual hosts.

Author Contributions

Conceptualization, R.G.-M., A.G., F.H.A.; investigation, A.G.; writing—original draft preparation, R.G.-M., A.G., F.H.A.; writing—review and editing, J.D.R.; project administration and funding acquisition, N.S.

Funding

This research was funded by grants to NS from the Harte Research Institute (Biodiversity of the Southern Gulf of Mexico) and CONABIO (NE018; Actualización del conocimiento de la diversidad de especies de invertebrados marinos bentónicos de aguas someras [<50 m] del sur del Golfo de México). We thank to José Luis Tello-Musi (UNAM) for his helpful assistance during field work.

Conflicts of Interest

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

References

  1. Titus, B.M.; Vondriska, C.; Daly, M. Comparative behavioral observations demonstrate the “cleaner” shrimp Periclimenes yucatanicus engages in true symbiotic cleaning interactions. Royal Soc. Open Sci. 2017, 4, 170078. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
  2. Silbiger, N.J.; Childress, M.J. Interspecific variation in anemone shrimp distribution and host selection in the Florida Keys (USA): Implications for marine conservation. Bull. Mar. Sci. 2008, 83, 329–345. [Google Scholar]
  3. Bruce, A.J. The hosts of the coral-associated Indo-West-Pacific Pontoniine shrimps. Atoll Res. Bull. 1977, 205, 1–19. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
  4. Brinkmann, B.W.; Fransen, C.H.J.M. Identification of a new stony coral host for the anemone shrimp Periclimenes rathbunae Schmitt, 1924 with notes on the host-use pattern. Contrib. Zool. 2016, 85, 437–456. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [Green Version]
Figure 1. (a) Two anemone shrimps Periclimenes yucatanicus (arrows) on the scleractinian coral Montastraea cavernosa. (b) P. yucatanicus dorsal side. Scale bars: 1 cm.
Figure 1. (a) Two anemone shrimps Periclimenes yucatanicus (arrows) on the scleractinian coral Montastraea cavernosa. (b) P. yucatanicus dorsal side. Scale bars: 1 cm.
Diversity 11 00213 g001

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MDPI and ACS Style

González-Muñoz, R.; Garese, A.; Acuña, F.H.; Reimer, J.D.; Simões, N. The Spotted Cleaner Shrimp, Periclimenes yucatanicus (Ives, 1891), on an Unusual Scleractinian Host. Diversity 2019, 11, 213. https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/d11110213

AMA Style

González-Muñoz R, Garese A, Acuña FH, Reimer JD, Simões N. The Spotted Cleaner Shrimp, Periclimenes yucatanicus (Ives, 1891), on an Unusual Scleractinian Host. Diversity. 2019; 11(11):213. https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/d11110213

Chicago/Turabian Style

González-Muñoz, Ricardo, Agustín Garese, Fabián H. Acuña, James D. Reimer, and Nuno Simões. 2019. "The Spotted Cleaner Shrimp, Periclimenes yucatanicus (Ives, 1891), on an Unusual Scleractinian Host" Diversity 11, no. 11: 213. https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/d11110213

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