Dear Mike

thanks for your reply.

The lack of any adult specimen of sponge or mollusc on
crabs of genus Galathea suggests this is a different
case from decorator crabs.

I think it is just the arrival of larvae which then
find a suitable substratum for early development.

However, this is the first time I meet something like
this so any further experience is welcome.

Best regards
Paolo

At 09.18 09/01/2007 -0500, you wrote:
Here in SoFla we call them decorator crabs, any of
several genus that
cover themselves or allow growth that provides
protection and camoflage.

Teardrops (Pelia mutica) and two-horn decorators
(Microphrys bicomuta)
are very common and heavily encrusted with sponges and
sessile juveniles.

I've also taken large lobsters with hard shells (long
time since they
molted) that have growth, but I never examined them
for juvenile bivalves.

m


Paolo G. ALBANO
Bologna, ITALY
Webmaster of Società Italiana di Malacologia website at http://www.sim-online.it

__________________________________________________
Do You Yahoo!?
Tired of spam?  Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around
http://mail.yahoo.com

----------------------------------------------------------------------
[log in to unmask] - a forum for informal discussions on molluscs
To leave this list, click on the following web link:
http://listserv.uga.edu/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=conch-l&A=1
Type your email address and name in the appropriate box and
click leave the list.
----------------------------------------------------------------------