''Calyptraeotheres garthi'' is a species of pea crab in the family
Pinnotheridae
The Pinnotheridae are a family of tiny soft-bodied crabs that live commensally in the mantles of certain bivalve molluscs (and the occasional large gastropod mollusc species in genera such as ''Strombus'' and ''Haliotis''). '' Tunicotheres moseri ...
.
It is found in the southwestern Atlantic Ocean and is a
parasitic castrator
Parasitic castration is the strategy, by a parasite, of blocking reproduction by its host, completely or in part, to its own benefit. This is one of six major strategies within parasitism.
Evolutionary strategy
The parasitic castration strateg ...
of the slipper limpet ''
Crepidula cachimilla
''Crepidula cachimilla'' is a species of sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Calyptraeidae, the slipper snails or slipper limpets, cup-and-saucer snails, and Chinese hat snails.
Distribution
The species was described based on s ...
''.
Taxonomy
When Jorge L. Fenucci originally encountered ''C. garthi'', he first mistook it for the related (then placed in ''Pinnotheres'').
A few years later, he described the species under ''
Pinnotheres'' as ''P. garthi'' (not "Fabia garthi", as cited in
WoRMS Worms may refer to:
*Worm, an invertebrate animal with a tube-like body and no limbs
Places
*Worms, Germany, a city
**Worms (electoral district)
*Worms, Nebraska, U.S.
*Worms im Veltlintal, the German name for Bormio, Italy
Arts and entertainme ...
).
[
When Ernesto Campos described his new genus '' Calyptraeotheres'' for a species then still placed in '' Fabia'', he noted that both ''P. politus'' (i.e. ) and ''P. garthi'' were also likely to belong to his new genus.][
]
Description
The female ''Calyptraeotheres garthi'' exhibits certain adaptations that are probably associated with its parasitic way of life. The invasive stage has a compact body shape, a hard carapace and large seta
In biology, setae (singular seta ; from the Latin word for "bristle") are any of a number of different bristle- or hair-like structures on living organisms.
Animal setae
Protostomes
Annelid setae are stiff bristles present on the body. Th ...
e (bristles) on its swimming legs. At its next moult it loses these traits and becomes soft bodied with a rounded carapace and slender legs and claws. After several more moults it regains its hard carapace and more robust legs and claws. The male does not go through any soft-bodied stages.[
]
Distribution
''Calyptraeotheres garthi'' is native to the waters off the coast of Argentina,
Ecology
''Calyptraeotheres garthi'' is a parasitic castrator
Parasitic castration is the strategy, by a parasite, of blocking reproduction by its host, completely or in part, to its own benefit. This is one of six major strategies within parasitism.
Evolutionary strategy
The parasitic castration strateg ...
: it inhabits the brood chamber of the slipper limpet ''Crepidula cachimilla
''Crepidula cachimilla'' is a species of sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Calyptraeidae, the slipper snails or slipper limpets, cup-and-saucer snails, and Chinese hat snails.
Distribution
The species was described based on s ...
''. Its host
A host is a person responsible for guests at an event or for providing hospitality during it.
Host may also refer to:
Places
* Host, Pennsylvania, a village in Berks County
People
*Jim Host (born 1937), American businessman
* Michel Host ...
is a filter feeder
Filter feeders are a sub-group of suspension feeding animals that feed by straining suspended matter and food particles from water, typically by passing the water over a specialized filtering structure. Some animals that use this method of feedin ...
, filtering phytoplankton
Phytoplankton () are the autotrophic (self-feeding) components of the plankton community and a key part of ocean and freshwater ecosystems. The name comes from the Greek words (), meaning 'plant', and (), meaning 'wanderer' or 'drifter'.
Ph ...
from the water with the help of a string of mucus round the edges of its gills, and it is this green, plankton-laden mucus that the pea crab eats.[ The presence of the pea crab reduces the amount of food available to the slipper limpet. While the crab is present, the slipper limpet does not breed, and is effectively castrated.][ On removal of the pea crab, breeding in the slipper limpet resumes. It is unclear whether the cessation of breeding in the presence of the crab is due to a reduction in nutrients available to the slipper limpet, or to some other mechanism such as "steric interference" where castration occurs because the parasite physically prevents host reproduction in some way.]instar
An instar (, from the Latin '' īnstar'', "form", "likeness") is a developmental stage of arthropods, such as insects, between each moult (''ecdysis''), until sexual maturity is reached. Arthropods must shed the exoskeleton in order to grow or ass ...
juvenile.
References
{{Taxonbar, from=Q13451074
Decapods
Crustaceans of the Atlantic Ocean
Crustaceans described in 1975