Ommatokoita

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Ommatokoita
Greenland shark profile.jpg
On a Greenland shark
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Copepoda
Order: Siphonostomatoida
Family: Lernaeopodidae
Genus: Ommatokoita
Leigh-Sharpe, 1926
Species:
O. elongata
Binomial name
Ommatokoita elongata
(Grant, 1827)
Synonyms [1]
  • Lernaea elongataGrant, 1827
  • Ommatokoita superbaLeigh-Sharpe, 1926

Ommatokoita is a monotypic genus of copepods, the sole species being Ommatokoita elongata. [1] However, a specimen has been found on the skin of the great lanternshark (Etmopterus princeps), which has been assigned to the genus but not the species. [2]

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. [3] [4] [5] The parasites cause severe visual impairment, but it is thought that the sharks do not rely on keen eyesight for their survival. [4] It was speculated that the copepod may be bioluminescent and thus form a mutualistic relationship with the shark by attracting prey, but this hypothesis has not been verified. [6]

References

  1. 1 2 Walter TC, Boxshall G (eds.). "Ommatokoita Leigh-Sharpe, 1926". World of Copepods Database. World Register of Marine Species . Retrieved 25 April 2022.
  2. ↑ Hogans, W. E.; Brattey, John (1986). "Ommatokoita sp. (Copepoda: Lernaeopodidae) parasitic on a demersal shark, Etmopterus princeps, from the northwest Atlantic Ocean" . Canadian Journal of Zoology. 64 (4): 833–835. Bibcode:1986CaJZ...64..833H. doi:10.1139/z86-124 . Retrieved 2021-07-28.
  3. ↑ Borucinska, J. D.; Benz, G. W.; Whiteley, H. E. (1998). "Ocular lesions associated with attachment of the parasitic copepod Ommatokoita elongata (Grant) to corneas of Greenland sharks, Somniosus microcephalus (Bloch & Schneider)". Journal of Fish Diseases. 21 (6): 415–22. Bibcode:1998JFDis..21..415B. doi: 10.1046/j.1365-2761.1998.00122.x .
  4. 1 2 Benz, George W.; Borucinska, Joanna D.; Lowry, Lloyd F.; Whiteley, Herbert E. (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". The Journal of Parasitology. 88 (3): 474–81. doi:10.1645/0022-3395(2002)088[0474:OLAWAO]2.0.CO;2. PMID   12099414.
  5. ↑ Martin, R. Aidan (October 4, 1998). "Greenland sharks and parasites".
  6. ↑ Berland, Bjørn (1961). "Copepod Ommatokoita elongata (Grant) in the eyes of the Greenland shark—a possible cause of mutual dependence". Nature. 191 (4790): 829–30. Bibcode:1961Natur.191..829B. doi:10.1038/191829a0. S2CID   4262630.


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