| Lernaeenicus sprattae | |
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| Lernaeenicus sprattae on host European sprat | |
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| Species: | L. sprattae |
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| Lernaeenicus sprattae | |
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Lernaeenicus sprattae is a species of copepod in the family Pennellidae. It is a parasite of the European sprat (Sprattus sprattus) and certain other fish and is sometimes known as the sprat eye-maggot. [3]
Lernaeenicus sprattae is a parasite of the European sprat (Sprattus sprattus) in northwestern Europe and the European pilchard (Sardina pilchardus) in southwestern Europe, the Mediterranean Sea, and the Black Sea. [4]
This copepod has a large number of developmental-stages, some free-living and some parasitic. Two naupliar stages and the first copepodid stage are free-living and are followed by a second copepodid stage where the larva grasps a host fish. This is followed by four chalimus stages (nymphal stages) where the larvae are parasitic on the host. During the next stage, the adults are free-living and mate, the male dying soon after copulation. The female moults once more before reattaching to a sprat, either on its external surface or by invading the eye; while in the eye, the female transforms into a mature adult with two attached strings of eggs. [3] The earliest naupliar stages take place before the eggs hatch and are released from the strings. Altogether, there are fourteen developmental stages. The life cycle is very similar to that of Lernaeocera branchialis , [3] a parasite of the European flounder (Pleuronectes flesus), the common sole (Solea solea), and the lumpsucker (Cyclopterus lumpusbut), [5] but the cycle is slower, with each of the developmental stages taking longer. [3]
The copepod commonly burrows into the eye of the host, causing damage to the retina and cornea. The fish's vision is reduced and it may be blinded. Copepods can also attach to the flank of the fish by piercing it with its clawed limbs. The host's immune response causes inflammation of the surrounding tissue and further secures the parasite's hold. The parasite feeds on the host's blood and lysed cells. [6]
The loss of nutrients from the copepod feeding on blood and lysed cells is not enough to kill the fish; instead the host usually dies as a result of the copepod's physical attachment. Infected fish were observed to be slower than uninfected fish, likely due to reduced vision and blindness, which make it harder for the infected fish to escape predation. Disruption in blood flow from parasite feeding and physical difficulty moving due to the location of parasite attachment on the body also contribute to a loss of agility in infected fish. [4]
Copepods are a group of small crustaceans found in nearly every freshwater and saltwater habitat. Some species are planktonic, some are benthic, a number of species have parasitic phases, and some continental species may live in limnoterrestrial habitats and other wet terrestrial places, such as swamps, under leaf fall in wet forests, bogs, springs, ephemeral ponds, puddles, damp moss, or water-filled recesses of plants (phytotelmata) such as bromeliads and pitcher plants. Many live underground in marine and freshwater caves, sinkholes, or stream beds. Copepods are sometimes used as biodiversity indicators.
Monogeneans, members of the class Monogenea, are a group of ectoparasitic flatworms commonly found on the skin, gills, or fins of fish. They have a direct lifecycle and do not require an intermediate host. Adults are hermaphrodites, meaning they have both male and female reproductive structures.
The European sprat, also known as bristling, brisling, garvie, garvock, Russian sardine, russlet, skipper or whitebait, is a species of small marine fish in the herring family Clupeidae. Found in European waters, it has silver grey scales and white-grey flesh. Specific seas in which the species occurs include the Irish Sea, Black Sea, Baltic Sea and Sea of the Hebrides. The fish is the subject of fisheries, particularly in Scandinavia, and is made into fish meal, as well as being used for human consumption. When used for food it can be canned, salted, breaded, fried, boiled, grilled, baked, deep fried, marinated, broiled, and smoked.
The Australian sprat is a sprat fish whose habitat ranges in the waters surrounding Australia including Tasmania. It is a pelagic fish which is found in anti-tropical, temperate water. It is a part of the Clupeidae family. Other members of the Cluepeidae family also include herring, menhaden, sardines as well as shads. It is currently a relative unknown species of Sprat compared to the other members of the family. In total, there are five different types of True Sprats. What makes Australian Sprats different from the rest is their location and appearance. Sprattus Novaehollandiae have a dark blue back and a protruding lower jaw. They are found in the Southern regions of Australian such as lower Victoria and Tasmania were there are colder climates. On average, Australian Sprat grown up to 14cm and live in the range of 0-50 meters deep in the ocean. They will lay between 10,000 to 40,000 eggs per year and live for approximately 5-7 years. Other names for the Australian Sprat include Clupea Bassensis and Meletta Novaehollandiae.
Sea lice are copepods of the family Caligidae within the order Siphonostomatoida. They are marine ectoparasites that feed on the mucus, epidermal tissue, and blood of host fish. The roughly 559 species in 37 genera include around 162 Lepeophtheirus and 268 Caligus species.
Anguillicoloides crassus is a parasitic nematode worm that lives in the swimbladders of eels and appears to spread easily among eel populations after introduction to a body of water. It is considered to be one of the threats to the sustainability of populations of European eel. It was introduced to the European continent in the 1980s, where it was reported independently from Germany and Italy in 1982, having probably been introduced from Taiwan. It is thought to have reached England in 1987 from continental Europe. It is a natural parasite of the Japanese eel in its native range.
Lernaea is a genus of copepod crustaceans whose members are commonly called anchor worms and are parasitic on freshwater fishes.
Cestoda is a class of parasitic worms in the flatworm phylum (Platyhelminthes). Most of the species—and the best-known—are those in the subclass Eucestoda; they are ribbon-like worms as adults, known as tapeworms. Their bodies consist of many similar units known as proglottids—essentially packages of eggs which are regularly shed into the environment to infect other organisms. Species of the other subclass, Cestodaria, are mainly fish infecting parasites.
The salmon louse is a species of copepod in the genus Lepeophtheirus. It is a sea louse, a parasite living mostly on salmon, particularly on Pacific and Atlantic salmon and sea trout, but is also sometimes found on the three-spined stickleback. It feeds on the mucus, skin and blood of the fish. Once detached, they can be blown by wind across the surface of the sea, like plankton. When they encounter a suitable marine fish host, they adhere themselves to the skin, fins, or gills of the fish, and feed on the mucus or skin. Sea lice only affect fish and are not harmful to humans.
Like humans and other animals, fish suffer from diseases and parasites. Fish defences against disease are specific and non-specific. Non-specific defences include skin and scales, as well as the mucus layer secreted by the epidermis that traps microorganisms and inhibits their growth. If pathogens breach these defences, fish can develop inflammatory responses that increase the flow of blood to infected areas and deliver white blood cells that attempt to destroy the pathogens.
Pennellidae is a family of parasitic copepods. When anchored on a host, they have a portion of the body on the outside of the host, whereas the remaining anterior part of the parasite is hidden inside tissues of the host.
Lernaeocera branchialis, sometimes called cod worm, is a parasite of marine fish, found mainly in the North Atlantic. It is a marine copepod which starts life as a small pelagic crustacean larva. It is among the largest of copepods, ranging in size from 2 to 3 millimetres when it matures as a copepodid larva to more than 40 mm as a sessile adult.
Nicothoë astaci or the 'lobster louse' is an ectoparasitic copepod that parasitises the gills of the European lobster species Homarus gammarus. The lobster louse was first reported in 1826 by Audoin & Milne-Edwards. N. astaci has been found on lobsters inhabiting locations including Scotland, Lundy Island in the Bristol Channel and as far south as France and Portugal. The louse possesses a narrow suctorial mouthpart to feed on host haemolymph. Internally, In its adult form, Nicothoe is barely mobile and most likely remains in the same position for most of its life. The parasite occurs in groups, particularly near the base of the gills, and study has gone into its effects on the lobsters, which are considerably important, commercially. Not much is known about its life cycle, since there are significant gaps in knowledge of certain stages of its growth.
Pennella is a genus of large copepods which are common parasites of large pelagic fishes. They begin their life cycle as a series of free-swimming planktonic larvae. The females metamorphose into a parasitic stage when they attach to a host and enter into its skin. The males are free swimming. Due to their large size and mesoparasitic life history there have been a number of studies of Pennella, the members of which are among the largest of the parasitic Copepoda. All species are found as adults buried into the flesh of marine bony fish, except for a single species, Pennella balaenopterae which can be found in the muscles and blubber of cetaceans and occasionally other marine mammals, and is the largest species of copepod.
Pennella balaenopterae is a large ectoparasitic copepod specialising in parasitising marine mammals. It is the largest member of the genus Pennella, the other species of which are parasites of larger marine fish.
Lepeophtheirus pectoralis is a species of parasitic copepod from the northeast Atlantic Ocean, and the type species of the genus Lepeophtheirus. It is a parasite of flatfish, with the European flounder, the plaice, and the dab as the most frequent hosts. It feeds on the mucus, skin, and blood of the fish, with egg-producing females infecting the pectoral and pelvic fins of the host, while immature individuals and males are found on the rest of the body.
Peniculisa is a genus of marine parasitic copepods in the family Pennellidae.
Acanthochondria cornuta is a species of parasitic copepod from the northeast Atlantic Ocean, and the type species of the genus Acanthochondria. It infects the gills of several species of flatfish, particularly the European flounder. Copepodids and immature females infect the holobranch of the host, while adult females prefer the pseudobranch and the internal wall, suggesting they migrate upstream in the gills of the host as they mature.
Contracaecum is a genus of parasitic nematodes from the family Anisakidae. These nematodes are parasites of warm-blooded, fish eating animals, i.e. mammals and birds, as sexually mature adults. The eggs and the successive stages of their larvae use invertebrates and increasing size classes of fishes as intermediate hosts. It is the only genus in the family Anisakidae which can infect terrestrial, marine and freshwater animals.
Media related to Lernaeenicus sprattae at Wikimedia Commons
Data related to Lernaeenicus sprattae at Wikispecies