Occurrence, Distribution, and Orientation of Poecilasma Kaempferi Darwin (Cirripedia: Pedunculata) Epizoic on Neolithodes Grimaldi Milne-edwards and Bouvier (Decapoda: Anomura) in the Northeast Atlantic

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Abstract
Eighteen of 23 Neolithodes grimaldi trawled from 1,545 m in the Rockall Trough carried specimens of the pedunculate barnacle Poecilasma kaempferi. This is the most northerly record for this cirriped. Up to 1,088 barnacles per crab were recorded. They were most abundant on or at the bases of spines, particularly on the limbs. Three size-cohorts were recognizable on the larger crabs, but only one on the smaller crabs. There was some evidence of seasonal breeding in the barnacles. Detached limbs indicated that barnacles can survive on exuviae perhaps long after ecdysis of the crabs. Crab spines may afford protection from predators; otherwise the relationship is an opportunistic one, the barnacles exploiting the crab exoskeleton in an environment where solid surfaces for settlment are at a premium.