- Ommatokoita
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Ommatokoita elongata Scientific classification Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Arthropoda Subphylum: Crustacea Class: Maxillopoda Subclass: Copepoda Order: Siphonostomatoida Family: Lernaeopodidae Genus: Ommatokoita
Leigh-Sharpe, 1926Species: 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". http://www.elasmo-research.org/education/topics/lh_somniosus.htm.
- ^ 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. http://www.bioone.org/doi/abs/10.1645/0022-3395%282002%29088%5B0474:OLAWAO%5D2.0.CO%3B2.
- ^ Geoff Boxshall (2009). "Ommatokoita Leigh-Sharpe, 1926". In T. Chad Walter & Geoff Boxshall. World Copepoda database. World Register of Marine Species. http://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=135608. 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. http://seapics.com/cgi-bin/Panorama.cgi?searchLynx~enlarge~0.47006815497526266x402592x1x94x11?seapics.
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