A new host record for the pea crab Pinnotheres pisum (Linnaeus, 1767) (Decapoda: Pinnotheridae) in the western Mediterranean, with an update on host species

Elena MARCO-HERRERO, Sergio RAMÍREZ-AMARO, Julio A. DÍAZ, Francesc ORDINES and Enric MASSUTÍ, 2023. A new host record for the pea crab Pinnotheres pisum (Linnaeus, 1767) (Decapoda: Pinnotheridae) in the western Mediterranean, with an update on host species. Mediterranean Marine Science, 24(2), 419–425. https://doi.org/10.12681/mms.31628

Abstract: Pinnotheres pisum (Linnaeus, 1767) is one of the pinnotherid crab species with the highest number of reported bivalve hosts. Here we first report this species living in the bivalve Glossus humanus (Linnaeus, 1758), and provide an update on P. pisum symbiotic associations (i.e., known hosts), reaching up to 34 taxa. Partial sequences of the mitochondrial gene cytochrome c oxidase subunit I were first obtained from P. pisum and the G. humanus host from the Mediterranean Sea, confirming conspecificity with specimens from the Atlantic Ocean of the same species.

Keywords: Bivalvia, Brachyura, DNA barcoding, Heart cockle, Pea crab, Symbiont