APHOTOMARINE

An educational resource dedicated mainly to the photography
and diversity of marine life that can be found in coastal waters
and intertidal areas of Great Britain and Ireland by David Fenwick.

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Parasitic crab flatworm
Fecampia erythrocephala ?
- in ampithoid amphipod host 1

Parasitic crab flatworm
Fecampia erythrocephala ?
- in ampithoid amphipod host 2

Parasitic crab flatworm
Fecampia erythrocephala ?
- in ampithoid amphipod host 3

Parasitic crab flatworm
Fecampia erythrocephala ?
- in ampithoid amphipod host 4

Parasitic crab flatworm
Fecampia erythrocephala ?
- in ampithoid amphipod hosts 1

Parasitic crab flatworm
Fecampia erythrocephala ?
- in ampithoid amphipod host 5

Parasitic crab flatworm
Fecampia erythrocephala ?
- in ampithoid amphipod host 6

Parasitic crab flatworm
Fecampia erythrocephala ?
- in ampithoid amphipod host 7

Parasitic crab flatworm
Fecampia erythrocephala ?
- host with 0.1mm division rule 1

Parasitic crab flatworm
Fecampia erythrocephala ?
- parasite with 0.1mm rule 1

Parasitic crab flatworm
Fecampia erythrocephala ?
- parasite 1

Parasitic crab flatworm
Fecampia erythrocephala ?
- habitat / pool with coralline algae where scrape sample taken 1

Parasitic crab flatworm
Fecampia erythrocephala ?
- habitat / collection site close to low water mark 1

Parasitic crab flatworm
Fecampia erythrocephala ?
- habitat / location 1

There is a ? beside the species name as the species has not been determined by molecular analysis. It would be wrong to identify this species solely using morphological features only, it is however, morphologically very similar and is not the valid species Fecampia xanthocephala. It is therefore provisionally accepted as Fecampia erythrocephala based on its morphology and behaviour.

Five specimens of Fecampia erythrocephala ? were found in five amphipods of the same species, the species being a member of the family ampithoidae (identification confirmed by Cédric d'Udekem d'Acoz). Specimens were found in a scrape sample taken from a coralline pool on the lowershore near low water at Battery Rocks, Penzance, Cornwall, England, 17.09.19.

To my knowledge this is the first time this parasitic species has occurred in amphipods in the UK. Fecampia erythrocephala is not recorded to be a parasite of an amphipod in the family ampithoidae at all, anywhere else. Further work is being done to confirm both species involved here by sequencing.

The occurrence in an amphipod here may not be new it may be a seasonal event that has not been observed before. It may be that the amphipod involved here is the primary host of Fecampia erythrocephala given that the amphipod may outnumber decapod species on shores. It may be that the primary host changes depending on habitat and that Fecampia erythrocephala with its wide host range is an opportunistic species.

The main objective of this website is in furthering environmental awareness and education through the medium of photography. To increase awareness and access to the wildlife of the region and help

people find and identify it. Sometimes the difference between species is obvious but many species can only be determined by observing microscopic characteristics that are specific to any one species.