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Evidence of external digestion of crustaceans in Octopus vulgaris paralarvae

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 June 2000

Vicente Hernández-García
Affiliation:
Departamento de Biología, Universidad de Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Apartado 550, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Canary Islands, Spain
Ana Y. Martín
Affiliation:
Departamento de Biología, Universidad de Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Apartado 550, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Canary Islands, Spain
José J. Castro
Affiliation:
Departamento de Biología, Universidad de Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Apartado 550, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Canary Islands, Spain

Abstract

This paper reports, for the first time, the existence of external digestion of decapod larvae by the common octopus, Octopus vulgaris (Mollusca: Cephalopoda), paralarvae. Zoeae of three crab species were externally digested, leaving a whole and empty exoskeleton. The attack sequence on these prey is also described, and divided into the same three phases (attention, positioning and seizure) already known for Sepia hatchlings.

Type
SHORT COMMUNICATION
Copyright
2000 Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom

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