New Records of the Hydrozoan Coryne hincksi Bonnevie, 1898 on Red King Crabs in the Barents Sea

• Published in: Diversity
• Main Authors: Ninel N. Panteleeva, Alexander G. Dvoretsky, Vladimir G. Dvoretsky
• Format: Text
• Language: English
• Published: Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute 2023
• Subjects: epibiosis; Corynidae; Capitata; Coryne hincksi; morphology; symbiosis; Paralithodes camtschaticus; Barents Sea
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.3390/d15010100

Coryne hincksi Bonnevie, 1898 (Cnidaria, Hydrozoa) is a rare corynid hydrozoan that was first found in the coastal Barents Sea on the surface of other hydrozoan species and on the body of spider crabs in 1913. After the introduction of red king crabs into the Barents Sea in the 1960s and their range expansion and population growth, colonies of C. hincksi were registered on this host as well. In this paper, we update a list of C. hincksi records on red king crabs and present a detailed description. Also, for the first time, we provide quality photographs of a living colony of this species. Despite relatively low prevalence rates (1.4–3.2% in certain years), currently in the Barents Sea, C. hincksi occurs on crustaceans thus exhibiting a predominantly symbiotic lifestyle.