Sponges (Porifera) associated with the decorator crab Macrocoeloma nodipes (Desbonne in Desbonne & Schramm, 1867): three new records for Mexican waters

Sponges and decapods share diverse ecological interactions, including epibiosis in which sponges colonize crab carapaces. We report three sponge species— Stelletta kallitetilla (Laubenfels, 1936), Hymeniacidon heliophila (Wilson, 1911), and Haliclona ( Reniera ) manglaris Alcolado, 1984—on the decorator crab Macrocoeloma nodipes (Desbonne in Desbonne & Schramm, 1867) collected from the Campeche Bank (southern Gulf of Mexico), presenting new records for Mexican waters. Our research highlights the importance of describing ecologically associated species and offers insights into the presence of sponge species not previously reported in Mexico.