The stomachs of 427 giant red shrimps,Aristaeomorpha foliacea, caught in the Strait of Sicily (Mediterranean Sea) during four seasonal surveys contained 73 cephalopods, or 8.6% of prey. Cephalopods ranked third as prey following crustaceans (49.2% of prey) and bony fish (20.5% of prey). The following cephalopod taxa were identified: Heteroteuthis dispar, Sepietta oweniana, Brachioteuthis sp., Abraliopsis morisii, Onychoteuthis banksii,Ancistroteuthis lichtensteinii, Histioteuthis bonnelli, H. reversa, Taoniinae sp., Octopodidae sp.; the dominant species was Heteroleuthis dispar (13 specimens). All remains pertained to small and very small specimens, including earlyjuveniles; rostral length of 13 beaks (=17.8% of cephalopods) measured <1 mm. Early juveniles were found in stomach contents only in summer and winter. Cephalopod size was found to be positively correlated to shrimp size. No seasonal nor predator sex-related differences were found in the quantities and frequencies of ingested cephalopods
Predation on cephalopods by the giant red shrimp Aristaeomorpha foliacea
Pipitone C
2002
Abstract
The stomachs of 427 giant red shrimps,Aristaeomorpha foliacea, caught in the Strait of Sicily (Mediterranean Sea) during four seasonal surveys contained 73 cephalopods, or 8.6% of prey. Cephalopods ranked third as prey following crustaceans (49.2% of prey) and bony fish (20.5% of prey). The following cephalopod taxa were identified: Heteroteuthis dispar, Sepietta oweniana, Brachioteuthis sp., Abraliopsis morisii, Onychoteuthis banksii,Ancistroteuthis lichtensteinii, Histioteuthis bonnelli, H. reversa, Taoniinae sp., Octopodidae sp.; the dominant species was Heteroleuthis dispar (13 specimens). All remains pertained to small and very small specimens, including earlyjuveniles; rostral length of 13 beaks (=17.8% of cephalopods) measured <1 mm. Early juveniles were found in stomach contents only in summer and winter. Cephalopod size was found to be positively correlated to shrimp size. No seasonal nor predator sex-related differences were found in the quantities and frequencies of ingested cephalopodsI documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.