Decapod Crustaceans associated with the sponge Sarcotragus muscarum Schmidt, 1864 (Porifera: Demospongiae) from the Levantine coasts of Turkey

Abstract

The present study was carried out to determine the Decapod Crustaceans fauna in association with Sarcotragus muscarum Schmidt, 1864 from the Levantine Sea coasts of Turkey studied between 13 September 2005 and 07 October 2005. As a result of the present study, a total of 711 specimens belonging to 12 decapod species were identified. Among the species determined, Synalpheus gambaroloides (Nardo, 1847) was the most dominant species represented with 616 individuals and dominance value of 86.64%. Alpheus rapacida de Man, 1908 is firstly encountered in association with the sponge species.