Ommatokoita
| Ommatokoita elongata | |
|---|---|
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Subphylum: | Crustacea |
| Class: | Maxillopoda |
| Subclass: | Copepoda |
| Order: | Siphonostomatoida |
| Family: | Lernaeopodidae |
| Genus: | Ommatokoita Leigh-Sharpe, 1926 |
| Species: | O. elongata |
| Binomial name | |
| Ommatokoita elongata (Grant, 1827) | |
| Synonyms | |
|
Ommatokoita superba Leigh-Sharpe, 1926 | |
Ommatokoita elongata is a 30 mm (1.2 in) long pinkish-white parasitic copepod, frequently found permanently attached to the corneas of the Greenland shark and Pacific sleeper shark.[1] The parasites cause severe visual impairment, but it is thought that the sharks do not rely on keen eyesight for their survival.[2] It is the only species in the genus Ommatokoita.[3]
References
- ↑ R. Aidan Martin (October 4, 1998). "Greenland sharks and parasites".
- ↑ George W. Benz, Joanna D. Borucinska, Lloyd F. Lowry & Herbert E. Whiteley (2002). "Ocular lesions associated with attachment of the copepod Ommatokoita elongata (Lernaeopodidae: Siphonostomatoida) to corneas of Pacific sleeper sharks Somniosus pacificus captured off Alaska in Prince William Sound". Journal of Parasitology 88 (3): 474–481. doi:10.1645/0022-3395(2002)088[0474:OLAWAO]2.0.CO;2.
- ↑ Geoff Boxshall (2009). T. Chad Walter & Geoff Boxshall, ed. "Ommatokoita Leigh-Sharpe, 1926". World Copepoda database. World Register of Marine Species. Retrieved March 8, 2010.
External links
- "Eye of Greenland shark, Somniosus microcephalus, infected by parasitic (or possibly mutualistic) copepod, Ommatokoita elongata, Baffin Island, Nunavut". Panorama Database Query. SeaPics.com.
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