Figure 1.
Fire sponges Tedania klausi (A) in the seagrass habitat of Tobacco Caye backreef, Belizean Barrier Reef, Caribbean Sea, and their obligatory associated shrimps, Typton carneus (B–C).
A, in situ habitus of living fire sponges. B, male (left) and ovigerous female (right) pair of T. carneus extracted from the host sponge. C, SEM photograph of T. carneus showing subcylindrical smooth body with reduced and unexposed processes and spines as adaptation to life inside sponge channels, and strong, laterally flattened claws with triangular shearing fingers.
Table 1.
Shrimp species analysed for stomach content.
Figure 2.
SEM details of Typton carneus Holthuis, 1951 female claws exhibiting traces of intensive shearing actions along the cutting edges.
A–C, shearing fingers of the right (A) and left (B,C) chelae. D, a detail of the cutting edge of the right chela finger. E–G, details of cutting edges of the movable finger of the left chela. Unmarked arrows indicate traces of abrasion on cutting edges; ‘pl’ indicates the proximal lobe of the pollex.
Figure 3.
Stomach contents of spongobiotic shrimps from the Caribbean Sea (A–C), the Mediterranean Sea (D), the South China Sea (E), and the Indian Ocean (F).
A, Typton carneus Holthuis, 1951. B, Typton distinctus Chace, 1972. C, Periclimenaeus caraibicus Holthuis, 1951. D, Typton spongicola Costa, 1844. E, Thaumastocaris streptopus Kemp, 1922. F, Synalpheus cf. hastilicrassus Coutière, 1905.