The Pacific sleeper shark is a sleeper shark of the family Somniosidae, found in the North Pacific on continental shelves and slopes in Arctic and temperate waters between latitudes 70°N and 22°N and in at least two places in the western tropical Pacific near Palau and the Solomon Islands, from the surface to 2,000 metres (6,600 ft) deep. The first evidence of the sharks in the western tropical Pacific emerged from a National Geographic video taken near the Solomon Islands in 2015. Its length is up to 4.4 m (14 ft), although it could possibly reach lengths in excess of 7 m (23 ft).
The Greenland shark, also known as the gurry shark, grey shark, or by the Kalaallisut name eqalussuaq, is a large shark of the family Somniosidae, closely related to the Pacific and southern sleeper sharks. The Greenland shark is a potentially important yet poorly studied cold-water species inhabiting the North Atlantic and Arctic Oceans.
Sparganosis is a parasitic infection caused by the plerocercoid larvae of the genus Spirometra including S. mansoni, S. ranarum, S. mansonoides and S. erinacei. It was first described by Patrick Manson in 1882, and the first human case was reported by Charles Wardell Stiles from Florida in 1908. The infection is transmitted by ingestion of contaminated water, ingestion of a second intermediate host such as a frog or snake, or contact between a second intermediate host and an open wound or mucous membrane. Humans are the accidental hosts in the life cycle, while dogs, cats, and other mammals are definitive hosts. Copepods are the first intermediate hosts, and various amphibians and reptiles are second intermediate hosts.
The black dogfish is a species of dogfish shark in the family Etmopteridae. It is common over the outer continental shelf and continental slope at depths of 180–2,250 m (590–7,380 ft). Females generally inhabit deeper water than males, and depending on the region, smaller sharks may occur at different depths than larger ones. This species is distributed widely in the Atlantic Ocean, from Greenland and Iceland to Virginia and West Africa in the north, and off southwestern Africa and Argentina in the south. The largest member of its family, the black dogfish, typically measures 60–75 cm (24–30 in) long. It has a stocky, dark brown body that is darker below than above, and bears scattered, minute bioluminescent organs. Its two dorsal fins are preceded by stout spines, and the anal fin is absent.
Somniosus is a widely distributed genus of deepwater dogfish sharks in the family Somniosidae. Several members of the genus are believed to attain lengths up to 7 m (23 ft), thus ranking among the largest of sharks.
Etmopterus is a genus of lantern sharks in the squaliform family Etmopteridae. They are found in deep sea ecosystems of the Atlantic, Indian and Pacific Oceans.
The southern lanternshark is a shark of the family Etmopteridae found in the southeast Pacific between latitudes 29°S and 59°S, at depths of between 220 and 1,460 m. This species has been found off Northland, off the Chatham Islands, on the Campbell Plateau, all in New Zealand waters. Its length is up to 60 cm. Reproduction is ovoviviparous, with 10 to 13 pups in a litter, length at birth about 18 cm. They exhibit bioluminescence.
The brown lanternshark or bristled lanternshark is a little-known species of deep-sea dogfish shark in the family Etmopteridae. It is found off Japan and New Zealand, and possibly also South Africa and Australia, typically deeper than 300 m (980 ft). This species can be distinguished from other lanternsharks by its coloration, which is a uniform dark gray or brown without the ventral surface being much darker and clearly delineated from the rest of the body. The brown lanternshark feeds on small bony fishes, cephalopods, and crustaceans. Reproduction is ovoviviparous, with females giving birth to 9–18 young. An unusually high proportion of individuals in Suruga Bay are hermaphrodites, with both male and female characteristics.
Anelasma is a monotypic genus of goose barnacles that live as parasites on various shark hosts.
The southern sleeper shark or Whitley's sleeper shark is a deepwater benthopelagic sleeper shark of the family Somniosidae found in the southern Atlantic, Indian, Pacific, and Antarctic oceans.
Gnathostoma hispidum is a nematode (roundworm) that infects many vertebrate animals including humans. Infection of Gnathostoma hispidum, like many species of Gnathostoma causes the disease gnathostomiasis due to the migration of immature worms in the tissues.
Aega psora is a species of isopod crustacean that parasitises a number of fish species in the North Atlantic. It is a serious ectoparasite of larger species of fish, particularly when they are injured.
Lernaeopodidae is a family of parasitic copepods. The females are typically large and fleshy, and attach to the host permanently using a plug made of chitin called the bulla. The males cling on to the females using their antennae. They parasitize both marine and freshwater fish. Some lernaeopodids, including Clavella and Salmincola, can have negative impacts on fish in aquaculture.
Ellobiopsis is a genus of unicellular, ectoparasitic eukaryotes causing disease in crustaceans. This genus is widespread and has been found infecting copepods from both marine and freshwater ecosystems. parasitism has been seen to interfere with fertility in both sexes of copepods.
Huffmanela lata is a parasitic nematode. It has been observed on the skin of the grey reef shark Carcharhinus amblyrhynchos off New Caledonia. This species has only been reported once in the scientific literature.
Peniculisa is a genus of marine parasitic copepods in the family Pennellidae.
Cardiodectes bellottii is a species of copepods in the family Pennellidae. It is a parasite of fish. It is found in the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans as well as the Mediterranean Sea; specimens from the Pacific were formerly treated as a separate species, Cardiodectes medusaeus.
Lernaeenicus sprattae is a species of copepod in the family Pennellidae. It is a parasite of the European sprat and certain other fish and is sometimes known as the sprat eye-maggot.
