Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-t7fkt Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-26T02:27:52.319Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Podoceru Chelonophilus (Amphipoda: Podoceridae) Associated with Epidermal Lesions of the Loggerhead Turtle, Caretta Caretta (Chelonia)

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  11 May 2009

P.G. Moore
Affiliation:
University Marine Biological Station Millport, Isle of Cumbrae, Scotland, KA28 OEG

Extract

Examination of a small sample of Podocerus chelonophilus found clustered around mucus-exuding epidermal lesions of juvenile loggerhead turtles (Caretta caretta) collected off Madeira revealed the presence of fibrous material in the gut contents. The absence of planktonic remains suggested that these amphipods had been exploiting turtle material directly.

With the exception of the Cyamidae (whale lice), rather few amphipod taxa consistently live in association with marine vertebrates. Sea turtles, however, have been recorded carrying gammaridean and caprellidean epibionts by Caine (1986), who reported eight gammaridean species (including two domicolous fouling species) from nesting loggerhead turtles in Florida.

Type
Short Communications
Copyright
Copyright © Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom 1995

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Barnard, J.L., 1966. A new genus of Galapagan amphipod inhabiting the buccal cavity of the sea-turtle, Chelonia mydas. Proceedings of the Symposium on Crustacea held at Ernakulam from January 12 to 15, 1965, part 1. Marine Biological Association of India, Symposium series 2,119125.Google Scholar
Barnard, J.L. & Karaman, G.S., 1991. The families and genera of marine gammaridean Amphipoda (except marine gammaroids), part 2. Records of the Australian Museum, supplement 13, part 2, 419866.Google Scholar
Barnard, J.L., Thomas, J.D. & Sandved, K.B., 1988. Behavior of gammaridean Amphipoda: Corophium, Grandidierella, Podocerus, and Gibberosus (American Megaluropus) in Florida. Crustaceana, supplement 13, 234—244.Google Scholar
Bregazzi, P.K., 1972. Life cycles and seasonal movements of Cheirimedon femoratus (Pfeffer) and Tryphosella kergueleni (Miers) (Crustacea: Amphipoda). British Antarctic Survey Bulletin, no. 30, 134.Google Scholar
Caine, E.A., 1986. Carapace epibionts of nesting loggerhead sea turtles: Atlantic coast of USA. Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology, 95,1526.Google Scholar
Chevreux, E., 1900. Amphipodes provenant des campagnes de l'Hirondelle (1885–1888). Resultats des Campagnes Scientifiques Accomplies sur son Yacht par Albert 1°Monaco, 16,1195.Google Scholar
Chevreux, E. & Fage, L., 1925. Amphipodes. Faune de France, 9,1488.Google Scholar
Enequist, P., 1949. Studies on the soft-bottom amphipods of the Skagerak. Zoologiska Bidragfrdn Uppsala, 28, 297492.Google Scholar
Sedlak-Weinstein, E., 1992. The occurrence of a new species of Isocyamus (Crustacea, Amphipoda) from Australian and Japanese Pilot Whales, with a key to species of Isocyamus. Journal of Natural History, 26, 937946.Google Scholar
Sherman, R.A. & Pechter, E.A., 1988. Maggot therapy: a review of the therapeutic applications of fly larvae in human medicine, especially for treating osteomyelitis. Medical and Veterinary Entomology, 2, 225230.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Thomas, J.D. & Barnard, J.L., 1992. Podocerus chelonophilus, a testudinous amphipod newly recorded from the western Atlantic Ocean. Bulletin of Marine Science, 50,108116.Google Scholar
Yamato, S., 1992. A new species of Podocerus (Amphipoda: Podoceridae) from the carapace of a loggerhead sea turtle in Japan. Publications of the Seto Marine Biological Laboratory, 35,281288Google Scholar