Enzyme variation inChthamalus stellatusandChthamalus montagui(Crustacea: Cirripedia): evidence for the presence ofC. montaguiin the Adriatic

Abstract

The electrophoretic mobilities of 13 enzymes in two species ofChthamalus, C. stellatusPoli and C. montagui Southward, were compared. These species differed absolutely for eight of the enzymes and exhibited some species-specific allozymes for a further four enzymes. No evidence of hybridization was found. The observed mean heterozygosity was 0087 forC. stellatusand 0179 forC. montagui.A sample of ‘C. montagui’ from Venice differed from two samples from south-west England in external shell characters and in allozyme frequency for two enzymes. These differences are thought to be the result of a geographical cline rather than a distinct separation of subspecies.