| The bopyrid isopod Athelges takanoshimensis Ishii, 1914 is a relatively common abdominal parasite of the hermit crabs from Hong Kong. This study investigated the prevalence, reproduction, and morphology of A. takanoshimensis from over 1500 hermit crabs specimens collected in Hong Kong between 2000 and 2004. Among these collections, A. takanoshimensis was on 7% of the hermit crab Pagurus minutus Hess, 1865 and was also recorded from 5.1% of Pagurus hedleyi (Grant & McCulloch, 1906); no hermit crabs from the genus Clibanarius were infested. The male-female ratio of parasitized P. minutus hosts was approximately 3:7, in contrast to a 3:2 ratio for uninfested hosts, suggesting that parasitism has an influence on host sex ratio. A. takanoshimensis produced up to 5,031 embryos (average brood size was 2,852 +/- 1,141, n=29). Estimates of body size (head length, pereon length, and total length) were analyzed as predictors of fecundity but a significant correlation was only found between brood size and pereon length. The morphology of the life stages of A. takanoshimensis are described via scanning electron microscopy (SEM), including the first investigation of epicaridium larvae in this species. The current study presents a better understanding of the natural history of ecologically important hermit crabs and their symbionts, as well as a detailed redescription of A. takanoshimensis for future taxonomic study. |
