ABSTRACT
A Mediterranean slipper lobster, Scyllarides latus (Latreille, 1802), was found near Malta in the Mediterranean Sea. It was conspicuously fouled by bryozoans which is a rare occurrence for lobsters in general, including this species. Based on its size, it was estimated to be an adult with an age of eight years and is eight months post-molt. Five erect branching Crisia sp. cyclostome bryozoan colonies, three encrusting lichenoporid cyclostome bryozoan colonies, and a few small ctenostome colonies were found on the dorsal surface of the lobster. The potential costs and benefits of this rare epibiotic relationship for the lobster and the bryozoans are reviewed. The goal of this paper is to describe this rare relationship between epizoic bryozoans and a slipper lobster.
