External and Internal Changes Induced by Parasitic Sacculina leptodiae (Sacculinidae) on the Xanthid Crab, Leptodius exaratus (Xanthidae: Brachyura) from the Red Sea and Gulfs of Suez and Aqaba, Egypt
Hassan, A., El-Sayed, A., Amer, M., Fouda, M. (2021). External and Internal Changes Induced by Parasitic Sacculina leptodiae (Sacculinidae) on the Xanthid Crab, Leptodius exaratus (Xanthidae: Brachyura) from the Red Sea and Gulfs of Suez and Aqaba, Egypt. EKB Journal Management System, 13(1), 45-62. doi: 10.21608/eajbsz.2021.142097
Ahmed M. Hassan; Awaad A. M. El-Sayed; Mohamed A. Amer; Maged M. A. Fouda. "External and Internal Changes Induced by Parasitic Sacculina leptodiae (Sacculinidae) on the Xanthid Crab, Leptodius exaratus (Xanthidae: Brachyura) from the Red Sea and Gulfs of Suez and Aqaba, Egypt". EKB Journal Management System, 13, 1, 2021, 45-62. doi: 10.21608/eajbsz.2021.142097
Hassan, A., El-Sayed, A., Amer, M., Fouda, M. (2021). 'External and Internal Changes Induced by Parasitic Sacculina leptodiae (Sacculinidae) on the Xanthid Crab, Leptodius exaratus (Xanthidae: Brachyura) from the Red Sea and Gulfs of Suez and Aqaba, Egypt', EKB Journal Management System, 13(1), pp. 45-62. doi: 10.21608/eajbsz.2021.142097
Hassan, A., El-Sayed, A., Amer, M., Fouda, M. External and Internal Changes Induced by Parasitic Sacculina leptodiae (Sacculinidae) on the Xanthid Crab, Leptodius exaratus (Xanthidae: Brachyura) from the Red Sea and Gulfs of Suez and Aqaba, Egypt. EKB Journal Management System, 2021; 13(1): 45-62. doi: 10.21608/eajbsz.2021.142097

External and Internal Changes Induced by Parasitic Sacculina leptodiae (Sacculinidae) on the Xanthid Crab, Leptodius exaratus (Xanthidae: Brachyura) from the Red Sea and Gulfs of Suez and Aqaba, Egypt

Egyptian Academic Journal of Biological Sciences, B. Zoology
Article 4, Volume 13, Issue 1, June 2021, Page 45-62  XML PDF (1.08 MB)
Document Type: Original Article
DOI: 10.21608/eajbsz.2021.142097
View on SCiNiTO View on SCiNiTO
Authors
Ahmed M. Hassan1; Awaad A. M. El-Sayed2; Mohamed A. Amer3; Maged M. A. Fouda4
1Private researcher in SAMCO Company, Egypt
2Zoology Department, Faculty of Science, Al-Azhar University, Nasr City, Cairo
3Zoology Department, Faculty of Science, Al-Azhar University, Cairo, Egypt
4Zoology Department, Faculty of Science, Al-Azhar University, Assiut Branch, Egypt -Biology Department, College of Science, Jouf University, Sakaka, Saudi Arabia
Abstract
The externae of parasitic sacculind, Sacculina leptodiae (Sacculindae: Rhizocephala: Cirripedia) on the xanthid crab, Leptodius exaratus (Xanthidae: Brachyura) were recorded during this study. A total of 691 individuals (400 males and 291 females) of this crab were collected from the intertidal coasts of the Egyptian Red Sea, Gulf of Suez and Gulf of Aqaba, of them 38 (23 males and 15 females) were infected with this parasite. The overall infection rate recorded 5.50% for all populations and was slightly higher in males (5.75%) than in females (5.15%). It showed seasonal, spatial and sex variations, recorded the highest rate (7.91%) at Gulf of Suez, declined sharply to 3.85 % at Gulf of Aqaba, and 2.43 % at all populations of the Red Sea, recorded the minimum rate of 0.57% at the southern populations. Autumn has the highest rate (10.34 %) at Hurghada (northern Red Sea), followed by summer with 9.34 % and 7.69 % at the Gulf of Suez and Ras Mohammed (Northern Red Sea), respectively, declined to 2.94 % in summer at Gulf of Aqaba, but increased again to 5.56% during spring. A total of 41 externae were recorded on the infected individuals, comprised 35 individuals with single externa (92.11 %), and only three with double externe (7.89 %). The highest number of externae was 13 (31.70 %) occurred on the 6th abdominal segment, followed by 11 (26.82 %) on the 5th segments, declined to 1-5 on the other segments except the first. The size of externae varied from 1.0 to 10.4 mm in breadth, averaged 5.19± 2.76 mm in males and 5.63± 3.17 mm in females. The rootlets of internae of the parasite invaded ovaries, testes, hepatopancreas, and all spaces within the crab body cavities. The disappearance or destruction of testes in infected males accompanied by remarkable broadness and segmentation of abdomens fringed with dense and length setae lead to “Parasitic castration”, compared with a hyperfiminzation in infected females due to the destruction of undeveloped ovaries and increasing abdominal setae dense and length.
Keywords
Rhizocephala; Leptodius exaratus; Red Sea; Gulfs of Suez and Aqaba; Egypt
Statistics
Article View: 294
PDF Download: 399