The Box Crab <i>Calappa hepatica</i> as a Nuclear Species for the Opportunistic Foraging Behaviour of the Flowery Flounder, <i>Bothus mancus</i>, in the Indo-Pacific

Abstract

Some predatory fishes may exhibit opportunistic feeding behaviour by exploiting potential prey that is distracted, displaced, or exposed by the activities of a third party that acts as a ‘nuclear’ species. Other fishes mostly perform the role of ‘nuclear’ species, but benthic invertebrates, such as octopuses, have also been reported. Crabs are rarely observed in this role, with only a few records from the tropical Atlantic Ocean. Here, we report the temporary association between two specimens of the flowery flounder, Bothus mancus (family Bothidae), and a box crab, Calappa hepatica (family Calappidae), from the Philippines, representing the first record of a crab–fish feeding association in the Indo-Pacific region.

Keywords

• Bothidae
• Calappidae
• following and scavenging
• hunting strategies
• interspecific association
• Philippines