Piggybacking pycnogonids and parasitic narcomedusae on Pandea rubra (Anthomedusae, Pandeidae)

• Published in: Plankton and Benthos Research
• Main Authors: Pagès, Francesc, Corbera, Jordi, Lindsay, Dhugal
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: unknown
• Published: Plankton Society of Japan 2007
• Subjects: Association; Japan; Mesopelagic; Anthomedusae; Antarctica; Pycnogonid; Medusa; Pacific; Southern Ocean; Weddell; Weddell Sea; Antarc*
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/10261/108228; https://doi.org/10.3800/pbr.2.83

8 pages, 3 figures, 1 table Associations between pycnogonids and the mesopelagic anthomedusan Pandea rubra are reported from two in situ video footage records off the Pacific coast of northern Japan, and from a plankton sample collected in the Weddell Sea (one juvenile of the pycnogonid Pallenopsis (Bathypallenopsis) tritonis). This is the first pelagic record of a pycnogonid in the Southern Ocean and the first record of an association between pycnogonids and a hydroidomedusa at mesopelagic depths. Taxonomic descriptions of both host and associate are given. Two early stages of a parasitic narcomedusa adhered to the medusan subumbrella are also reported. Possible origins for the pycnogonid-medusa association are postulated. © The Plankton Society of Japan Peer Reviewed