A pair of specimens were found underneath the carapax of an Upogebia deltaura juvenile of about 14mm in length. Underneath the left side a male was visible with a curious pair of blackish longitudinal lines. When I removed it from the gills, it was attached to the underside of a larger female, also with a pair of blackish longitudinal lines.
They were found on the Oystergrounds in The Dutch part of the North Sea on 21.iii.2015 at the a depth of 49m. ED50: 54°10’00” N 4°26’00” E
Could anybody give me a hint of the genus/species and/or a paper/reference on this taxon?
many thanks in advance
as an addition, it may be added that this specimen does not look like the species Ione thoracica nor Pseudione borealis, which we found in several samples from the same area.
I was recently informed that the female is immature and identification of it is very hard, if not impossible. It shows similarities with a non-indigenous species, but not sure though.
Yes, identification of immature females can be difficult. Here's a report from that area and that host discussing two bopyrid spp. (Progebiophilus euxinicus and Gyge branchialis). http://journals.cambridge.org/action/displayAbstract?fromPage=online&aid=4369628&fileId=S0025315400031489. Markham's review also discusses these two species.
It looks like Gyge branchialis, but the female is immature. Check Bourdon, R. 1968. Les Bopyridae des mers européennes. Mémoires du Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle, Série A, Zoologie 50:77-424. There is one other species from that host known (also in the Bourdon paper) but I don't think it is that but I cannot see all the smaller details that would verify the identification.
You should write to Dr. Daniel Roccatagliata - (Profesor Adjunto / Investigador Adjunto CONICET) [email protected]. He is a specialist in bopirids.
Best regards
The habitus of this immature specimen resembles more to Progebiopilus euxinicus (Popov) than Gyge brabchialis. Check out the pleopods of your female, biramous and lanceolate in euxinicus, monoramus and rounded in branchialis according Bourdon (1968). I also recommend you consult Bourdon (1968) for the description of immature forms of euxinicus. If you need a copy of this paper I can send you the description of these species.
If your specimens prove to be euxinicus, its presence in the North Sea seems to be a remarkably new record. Upogebia deltaura ranges from Norway to the Mediterranean.
Yes, then I would need a copy from those species, it is in a book I don't have (access to). i did find some drawings from both species which has been copied from Bourdon, but these are the adult stages. I did try to photograph the pleopods, but I can't decide. It appears uniramous and slightly heart-shaped, foliaceous with an apical point. Perhaps the shape changes with age?
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I have tried to stain the female with methyl-green to obtain more details of the pleopods but for some reason this dye doesn't work for this species. When it is in a petridish with this dye (water-solution) I can see the pleopods better (still appears uniramous) but when I remove it from the dye it is without color. Perhaps the attached photo reveals more details.
Found the same species in two other samples from the same area (Cleaverbank, North Sea), also from underneath the carapax of Upogebia deltaura. One Upogebia with one male and one female of about the same age/development and another Upogebia with only a female, but more developed. The latter female is shown in this picture. Still suggestions are welcome, and I hope i will ever find a mature one.
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