| Orthione griffenis | |
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| Upogebia pugettensis with a female Orthione greffenis on its gill flap | |
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| Species: | O. griffenis |
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| Orthione griffenis (Markham, 2004) | |
Orthione griffenis, or Griffen's isopod, [1] is an isopod parasite present in the waters off East Asia and the West Coast of North America. [2]
Orthione griffenis is an Epicaridean isopoda parasite that is found on the gill chamber of Upogebia mud shrimp. [3] Female O. griffenis are quite different from their male counterpart. Females have an oblong body, that is typically 6-24mm long with a width of half the length. Males are the smaller sex with a body that resembles more of a cylinder than an oval, 8mm long and 3mm wide. Females have 6 pleons and males have 7. [2] [4] O. griffenis are hatched as larva that attach themselves to copepod, and then metamorphose into a microniscus larva. After that they molt several times until they become cryptonicus larva that then infest mud shrimp. [4]
Orthione griffenis is native to the coasts of Asia. O. griffenis was first recorded on the coast of Willapa Bay, Washington, in 1988. Since then, O. griffenis has established itself from British Columbia, Canada to Baja California, Mexico. [4] They were likely introduced from cargo ships bound from Asia emptying their ballast tanks off the coast of North America. [5]
In 2017 this bopyrid was found in mud shrimp in British Columbia. [6] [7]
After being introduced from Asia, Orthione griffenis have established themselves in North America by infesting the mud shrimp Upogebia pugettensis . O. griffenis typically infests female U. pugettensis rather than male (80% compared to 57%). [8] They attach themselves to the gill chamber, where they suck the host's blood. This causes a metabolic burdening effect that greatly hampers reproductive ability, which has led to a significant decline in U. pugettensis. Hatfield Marine Science Center has found that all documented populations of U. pugettensis are infested with O. griffenis, and mud shrimp populations in 4 of 18 estuaries have gone extinct as of 2008. [5] It has been proposed that Orthione griffenis also induced sex change and male mortality in U. pugettensis. However O. griffenis have been associated with modification of secondary sex characteristics and showed no signs of increasing male mortality. [9]
Isopoda is an order of crustacean, which includes woodlice and their relatives. Members of this group are called Isopods and include both terrestrial and aquatic species. All have rigid, segmented exoskeletons, two pairs of antennae, seven pairs of jointed limbs on the thorax, and five pairs of branching appendages on the abdomen that are used in respiration. Females brood their young in a pouch under their thorax.
The New Zealand mud snail is a species of very small freshwater snail with a gill and an operculum. This aquatic gastropod mollusk is in the family Tateidae.
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Hemigrapsus oregonensis is a small shore crab of the family Varunidae; formerly classified under the family Grapsidae. It is known under several common names, including yellow shore crab, hairy shore crab, green shore crab, mud-flat crab, bay shore crab and Oregon shore crab. Despite its common name, the crab actually has a wide variety of coloration. It is found along the West Coast of the United States and Canada, specifically along shorelines and similar geographical areas. In 2009, H. oregonensis was included on a list of animals petitioning for the endangered species label, but there was not enough scientific information available for it to be considered as such, so it remains unevaluated to the present day.
Xanthogaleruca luteola, commonly known as the elm-leaf beetle, is a beetle species in the family Chrysomelidae that is native to Europe but invasive in other parts of the world.
Gnathia pilosus is the eighth gnathiid species to be described from South Africa. It occurs on the warmer east coast compared to the other seven gnathiids found on the colder west and south coasts of South Africa. Gnathiids have a polymorphic and biphasic life cycle. There are three larval stages with each stage having two forms, namely praniza and zuphea. The praniza is usually a replete, haematophagous phase while the zuphea is an unfed benthic dweller phase. Adults can be found in groups with a single male and up to 43 females and immature specimens. The free-living adults do not feed and are usually hidden in a cavity or sponge where reproduction will occur. The larvae of gnathiid isopods are known to parasitise a large variety of intertidal fish worldwide. The taxonomic classification of gnathiids is usually based on the morphological characteristics of the adult male. The detailed descriptions of the female and larva, however, are also important for identifying these life stages to species level when collected in the absence of males.
Neotrypaea californiensis, the Bay ghost shrimp, is a species of ghost shrimp that lives on the Pacific coast of North America. It is a pale animal which grows to a length of 11.5 cm (4.5 in). One claw is bigger than the other, especially in males, and the enlarged claw is thought to have a function in mating. N. californiensis is a deposit feeder that lives in extensive burrow systems, and is responsible for high rates of bioturbation. It adversely affects oyster farms, and its numbers are controlled in some places by the application of pesticides. It carries out an important role in the ecosystem, and is used by fishermen as bait.
Hemioniscus balani, a species of isopod crustacean, is a widespread parasitic castrator of barnacle in the northern Atlantic Ocean. Its range extends from Norway to the Atlantic coast of France, and as far west as Massachusetts. It is also commonly found on the Pacific coast of North America; it is not known if the Pacific and Atlantic populations are the same species, or if the Pacific population exists following human-assisted introduction.
The Bopyridae are a family of isopod crustaceans in the suborder Cymothoida. There are 1223 individual species contained in this family. Members of the family are ectoparasites of crabs and shrimp. They live in the gill cavities or under the carapace where they cause a noticeable swelling. Fossil crustaceans have occasionally been observed to have a similar characteristic bulge.
Pandalus montagui is a species of cold-water shrimp in the family Pandalidae. It is the type species of the genus Pandalus and is variously known as the pink shrimp, Aesop shrimp and Aesop prawn.
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Lymantria dispar dispar or LDD moth, commonly known as the gypsy moth, European gypsy moth, North American gypsy moth, or spongy moth, is a species of moth in the family Erebidae that is of Eurasian origin. It has a range that extends over Europe, Africa, and North America.
Parasymmetrorbione is a genus of isopod containing a single species, Parasymmetrorbione bicauda.
The arrow goby is a species of goby native to marine and brackish waters of the Pacific coast of North America from British Columbia to Baja California. This species grows to a length of 6.4 centimetres (2.5 in) SL, though most do not exceed 4.2 centimetres (1.7 in) TL. This fish can also be found displayed in public aquaria. This species is the only known member of its genus.
Loxothylacus panopaei is a species of barnacle in the family Sacculinidae. It is native to the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea. It is a parasitic castrator of small mud crabs in the family Panopeidae, mostly in the Gulf of Mexico, the Caribbean Sea and the eastern Atlantic Ocean.
Palaemon macrodactylus is a species of shrimp of the family Palaemonidae.
Upogebia pugettensis, also known as the blue mud shrimp, is a species of mud lobster from the West Coast of North America.
Neaeromya rugifera is a species of bivalve that inhabits the West Coast of North America.
Acrobelione halimedae is an isopoda parasite present in the waters off Singapore. First described in 2017, by Boyko, Williams & Shields.
Ceratothoa oestroides is a crustacean isopod, obligate ectoparasite of marine fish that dwells in the buccal cavity. It is the causative agent of various pathologies including tissue damage at the parasitisation site (tongue), growth defects, decrease in mean host weight and size and increases mortalities in farmed and wild fish populations. It has been recorded in six different fish families: Sparidae, Carangidae, Clupeidae, Maenidae, Scorpenidae, and Mugilidae.
