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First record of the association between Malmgreniella cf. variegata (Polychaeta, Polynoidae) and Ophionereis annulata (Echinodermata, Ophionereididae) in the Mexican Pacific

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Abstract

An association between the scale-worm Malmgreniella cf. variegata and the ophiuroid Ophionereis annulata is reported for first time in the Mexican Pacific. The relationship was found in five localities across a total of 22 sites where O. annulata was collected. The polynoids collected were similar to the Western Atlantic scale-worm Malmgreniella variegata, which was previously recorded as commensal of O. annulata on the Pacific side of Panama, although they differ in colour pattern and the presence of notochaetae with a unidentate tip. The prevalence of infestation was 5 % and the intensity was 1.20. Experimental observations suggest that the behaviour of the scale-worm on O. annulata could be affected by light conditions, and that the commensal had a preference for its host over other ophiuroid species. More studies should be carried out to determine the taxonomic status of M. cf. variegata in the Eastern Pacific and to further elucidate the commensal–host relationship between this scale-worm and O. annulata.

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Acknowledgments

We thank Andrés López-Pérez, Ronald Zepeta-Vilchis (UMAR, Puerto Ángel) and Francisco Solís-Marín (ICML-UNAM, Mexico City) for collecting specimens; and Gordon Hendler (NHM of LA County) and Luis Calderón (CICESE) for providing valuable information. The study of ophiuroids was supported by a grant from CONACYT (80228) and CONABIO (HJ029), and the study of the polynoids by a grant from CONACYT-SEMARNAT (FOSEMARNAT 2004-01-92) and a fellowship to one of the authors (PHM). While this work was done, RGF was supported by a scholarship for CONACYT.

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  1. Programa de Posgrado, Facultad de Ciencias Naturales, Universidad Autónoma de Querétaro, Av. de las Ciencias s/n, col. Juriquilla, 76230, Querétaro, Mexico

    Rebeca Granja-Fernández

  2. Laboratorio de Sistemática de Invertebrados Marinos (LABSIM), Universidad del Mar, Campus Puerto Ángel, Ciudad Universitaria, Apdo. Postal 47, 70902, Puerto Ángel, Oaxaca, Mexico

    Paulina Hernández-Moreno & Rolando Bastida-Zavala

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  1. Rebeca Granja-Fernández
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  2. Paulina Hernández-Moreno
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  3. Rolando Bastida-Zavala
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Correspondence to Rebeca Granja-Fernández.

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Granja-Fernández, R., Hernández-Moreno, P. & Bastida-Zavala, R. First record of the association between Malmgreniella cf. variegata (Polychaeta, Polynoidae) and Ophionereis annulata (Echinodermata, Ophionereididae) in the Mexican Pacific. Symbiosis 60, 85–90 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13199-013-0239-x

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