First record of Carcinonemertes conanobrieni Simpson, Ambrosio & Baeza, 2017 (Nemertea, Carcinonemertidae), an egg predator of the Caribbean spiny lobster Panulirus argus (Latreille, 1804), on the Caribbean Coast of Colombia

Abstract

Carcinonemertes conanobrieni Simpson, Ambrosio & Baeza, 2017, an egg predator of the spiny lobster Panulirus argus (Latreille, 1804), is recorded for the first time in Colombian waters and the Caribbean. Worms were isolated from an egg mass of a lobster caught at the Gulf of Salamanca, Magdalena. Little is known about the distribution of this species and currently this record from the Caribbean Coast of Colombia is the only one outside of the Florida Keys, USA. The new record suggests that this parasite might be present in the entire Caribbean Sea.

The effect of the egg-predator Carcinonemertes conanobrieni on the reproductive performance of the Caribbean spiny lobster Panulirus argus

“…In 2017, Carcinonemertes conanobrieni was described from among the eggs brooded by female P. argus in the Florida Keys, USA [ 11 ]. A year later, the presence of the same worm was recorded in the Caribbean coast of Colombia, and most recently in the Eastern Caribbean Sea, specifically Saint Kitts and Nevis [ 12 , 13 ]. Worms in the family Carcinonemertidae, including the genus Carcinonemertes , are recognized as voracious egg-predators that infect a variety of decapod crustaceans [ 14 , 15 ].…”

“…The nemertean worm Carcinonemertes conanobrieni has been recorded with variable prevalence in female P. argus populations across different localities of the Caribbean [ 9 , 10 , 12 , 13 , 24 ]. While initially discovered in the Florida Keys, the growing detection of C. conanobrieni among the brood masses of female P. argus brings into question how long this worm has been on the host, undetected, in previous years.…”

“…While initially discovered in the Florida Keys, the growing detection of C. conanobrieni among the brood masses of female P. argus brings into question how long this worm has been on the host, undetected, in previous years. Moreover, researchers have hypothesized that this egg predator may be present across P. argus’ entire Caribbean distribution [ 12 , 13 ]. Carcinonemertes conanobrieni is a voracious egg predator, known to leave the embryos of its host partially or fully consumed [ 24 ], which suggests that this egg predator can cause significant embryo mortality in females of this spiny lobster species.…”

First report of an egg-predator nemertean worm in crabs from the south-eastern Pacific coast: Carcinonemertes camanchaco sp. nov

“…Some species are responsible for the collapse of crustacean fisheries in North America 3 – 6 given their negative effect on female reproductive performance 2 , 5 , 7 , 8 . Several species of commercial interest, such as the Caribbean spiny lobster Panulirus argus whose eggs are consumed by C. conanobrieni 9 , 10 , the Dungeness crab Metacarcinus magister infected by C. errans 5 , the Red king crab Paralithodes camtschaticus parasitized by C. regicides , and the sand crab Portunus pelagicus infected by C. mitsukurii 11 are used as hosts by carcinonemertid worms. One of the most studied nemertean worms is C. errans that during outbreaks causes considerable egg mortality in 50% or more of the brooding female crabs of Metacarcinus magister .…”

“…Currently, 17 species of Carcinonemertes are known to science: four species inhabiting the Brazilian coast, South-western Atlantic (C. carcinophila inminuta , C. divae , C. caissarum, and C. sebastianensis ) 13 , one species from the Caribbean Sea (Florida, USA and Santa Marta, Colombia) and North-western Atlantic Ocean ( C. conanobrieni ) 9 , 10 , one from the Southwestern Indian Ocean ( C. mitsukurii , western Australian coast) 18 , 19 , eight species from the North Pacific Ocean ( C. coei , C. errans , C. regicides , C. epialti , C. kurisi , C. pinnotheridophila , C. c. carcinophila, and C. wickhami ; USA, Baja California, Mexico) 1 , 18 , 20 – 23 , and three species from the Southwestern Pacific Ocean ( C. australiensis, C. tasmanica, and C. humesi ; Australian coast) 21 , 24 . Not a single representative of the family Carcinonemertidae has been described so far from the South-eastern Pacific Ocean (SEP).…”