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Alternate Title

Pattern and Coloration of Periclimenes rathbunae from the Turks and Caicos Islands, with Comments on Host Associations in Other Anemone Shrimps of the West Indies and Bermuda

Document Type

Article

Abstract

The commensal shrimp Periclimenes rathbunae Schmitt, 1924, lives in association with the sea anemones Condylactis gigantea Weinland, 1860, and Stichodactyla (= Stoichactis) helianthus Ellis, 1767, in the Turks and Caicos Islands, British West Indies. We describe its pattem and coloration in life. Published reports of distribution and host acceptance by P. rathbunae and three of its congeners (P. anthophilus Holthuis and Eibl-Eibesfeldt, 1964; P. pedersoni Chace, 1958; and P. yucatanicus Ives, 1891) are reviewed. The last two species are recorded for the first time from the Turks and Caicos, and the association of P. yucatanicus with Stichodactyla helianthus on the Caicos Bank is a new host record. Finally, we offer the first direct evidence that P. yucatanicus leaves the host anemone temporarily to "clean" fishes, discounting a previous suggestion of its role as a noncleaning mimic of P. pedersoni.

First Page

301

Last Page

311

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