0000000000118144
AUTHOR
Stuart R. Gelder
Images are not and should not ever be type specimens: a rebuttal to GarraffoniFreitas.
Note. This original form of this rebuttal was submitted to Science on 3 March 2017 (limited to 300 words as per Science editorial policy) but rejected on 13 March 2017. Herein, we elaborate on our original Science submission in order to more fully address the issue without the length limitations. This rebuttal is followed by the list of the signatories who supported our original submission.
An alien ectosymbiotic branchiobdellidan (Annelida: Clitellata) adopting exotic crayfish: a biological co-invasion with unpredictable consequences
Invasive alien species present a global threat to biodiversity, particularly where pathogens and symbionts are involved. Branchiobdellidans are clitellate annelids with an obligate ectosymbiotic association primarily on astacoidean crayfish. There are several examples of branchiobdellidan species adopting a geographically exotic host where endemic and exotic crayfishes cohabit the same water body. The first records of a western North American branchiobdellidan, Xironogiton victoriensis , adopting the eastern North American crayfish, Procambarus clarkii , in 2 river basins in Spain provide further evidence of the ectosymbionts’ tolerance to adopt an exotic host. Given worldwide translocation…