First report of Ramphocorixa rontundocephala as a Red swamp crayfish (Procambarus clarkii) epibiont in Colombia

Abstract

The aim of this study was to describe an epibiont whose eggs were found on red swamp crayfish (Procambarus clarkii), the egg density and the physicochemical characteristics of the water body where it was found. For this, individuals of P. clarkii were captured in Lake Güitoque (Colombia), biometric measurements were taken, the number of epibionts adhered to the carapace were counted. In addition, samples of benthos were taken to the taxonomic determinations of the adults of the hemipterans present in the lake. As a result, the epibiont species was found to be Ramphocorixa rotundocephala of the Corixidae family. On average, the corixids deposited 1007 eggs scattered throughout the body of the red swamp crayfish. The cephalothorax had the highest number of adherent organisms, approximately 70.5% of the total, while the rest was distributed in the abdomen, the telson and the uropods. Crayfish less than 3 cm in length did not have epibionts. This is the first report not only of the presence of epibiont hemipterans on P. clarkii in Colombia and, apparently, in South America; but also, of R. rotundocephala as an epibiont of P. clarkii. This shows that the genus Ramphocorixa is capable of ovipositing on the cuticle of the red crayfish. Research suggests that R. rotundocephala could expand its range in Colombia using the red crayfish as a dispersal vehicle.