Phyllosomas of smooth fan lobsters (Ibacus novemdentatus) encase jellyfish cnidae in peritrophic membranes in their feces

Jellyfish possess venomous cnidae on their tentacles to capture and consume marine zooplankton. Nevertheless, the planktonic larvae of the smooth fan lobster (Ibacus novemdentatus), known as phyllosoma, prey on jellyfish and successfully ingest both tentacle tissue as well as constituent cnidae, despite the presence of the venom-filled explosively penetrant cnidae or nematocysts. In the present study, we hypothesized that phyllosomas have mechanical and/or physiological resistance to internal envenomation by ingested nematocysts. To test this hypothesis, we examined the feces of phyllosomas (n=5) that were fed with Japanese sea nettle (Chrysaora pacifica) and found both undischarged as well as discharged cnidae surrounded by peritrophic membrane. We surmise that this membrane may mechanically insulate the lining of the midgut from stinging nematocysts to avoid injection of jellyfish venom into the phyllosomas’ body by nematocyst tubule penetration. We then tested physiological sensitivity of the phyllosomas (n=10) to crude extract of tentacle cnidae injected into their bodies. For this experiment, we used a crude venom extract prepared from nematocysts isolated from tentacles of a rhizostome jellyfish (Nemopilema nomurai) after exposure to high salt which disrupted tentacle integrity, and phosphate-buffered saline as a control. Nine out of 10 animals died after the injection of crude venom extract, while none of the animals died in the control group. These results indicate that the defense of phyllosoma larvae against the toxin of jellyfish is a combination of mechanical inactivation of the ingested nematocysts and chemical digestion of the toxin in the midgut rather than physiological resistance against the toxin.