FOLLICULINIDAE, Dons, 1914

Mead, A., Carlton, J. T., Griffiths, C. L. & Rius, M., 2011, Introduced and cryptogenic marine and estuarine species of South Africa, Journal of Natural History 45 (39 - 40), pp. 2463-2524 : 2469

Family FOLLICULINIDAE

Mirofolliculina limnoriae (Giard, 1883) Introduced

This tiny green folliculinid protist is host-specific and lives on the dorsal surface of the pleotelson of the wood boring isopod (gribble) Limnoria ( Delgery et al. 2006) . We found this species in September 2008 on Limnoria tripunctata collected from wooden pilings in Table Bay Harbour, Cape Town. It has doubtless been present in South Africa for a very long time. We regard it as a co-introduction with Limnoria tripunctata . However, the biogeographic origins of both host and commensal remain unknown.