Corallovexiidae | |
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Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Arthropoda |
Subphylum: | Crustacea |
Class: | Copepoda |
Order: | Cyclopoida |
Suborder: | Ergasilida |
Family: | Corallovexiidae Stock, 1975 |
Genera | |
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The Corallovexiidae are a family of strictly marine [1] parasitic copepods associated with corals and, together with members of the family Asterocheridae, dominate their ecological niche in the West Indies; in the Indo-Pacific, they are replaced by the families Lichomolgidae and Xarifiidae. [2] [3]
The family contains two genera and at least 10 species, all described by Jan Hendrik Stock in 1975. [1] [2] After the 10 known and described species, there were three unknown species found in the Labrador Sea and one more found in the Curaçao. [4] [5]
Members of Corallovexiidae are typically semi-transparent or opaque with an off-white color. All members have a dark dot on its head visible through their exoskeleton. Adults are around 2-5mm in length, and exhibit sexual dimorphism. [1]
Corallovexiidae females are smaller than their male counterparts and have four pairs of long pereonites, or lateral horns, as opposed to the males' two. Both males and females have well defined labrum, but the females have two oral appendages. [1]
Regarding antennae, the anterior antennae across both sexes are almost identical, but the posterior antennae differ by segmentation; the males' antennae segments are clearly articulated, as opposed to the females', whose segments are less distinct. They only have one pair of thoracic appendages, which are level with the first and second pereonites. [1]
The females' ovaries are on the left and right sides of their metasome, but the explicit egg sacs have never been found. [1]
Corallovexiidae contains two genera, Corallonoxia and Corallovexia. [1] Three unknown species of Corallovexiidae [3] are not listed here. The Corallovexiidae family's main shared homology is the presence of pereonite.
Phylogenically, their closest relatives are the Antheacheridae, which also have large lateral horns, but Coravexiidae lacks the pygmy males present in Antheacheridae. Members of Antheacheridae also do not have as well defined pereonites as Coravexiidae. Another key difference is Antheacheridae's lack of a caudal ramus. [1]
Below is a list of named species: [1]
The Corallovexiidae described above only infect one polyp and reside there for life. [1] The number of copepods infecting a single polyp differs among latitude; for example, one study found a Diploria clivosa polyp from Curaçao containing over 200 copepods (all C. mediobrachium), while the maximum number found in Halipteris finmarchica was 3. [3] [4]
Members of Corallovexiidae are endoparasitic, and are usually found in its hosts' mesoglea or mesentery, but the unknown species from the Labrador Sea were found in the reproductive organs of their respective corals. [1] [3] The undescribed Corallovexiidae limited yolk deposition in H. finmarchica, and when abundant in a colony, lowers its fecundity. [3]
Within H. finmarchica polyps, males were always found with females, but females were also found living alone. [3] The sex ratio is highly in favor of the females. [4]
Regarding life history, an intensive study into Corallovexia longicauda discovered that, during its larval stages it has a very short pelagic span, quickly settling on floating coral larvae after hatching. Due to the small chance that C. longicauda larvae "hits" the floating coral larvae, very few survive. However, if it happens, C. longicauda will populate the growing polyp and create a colony. The colony will end up sustaining itself through self-infestation. Overall, the parasite has minimal effects on its host. [3] This may or may not apply to other members of the family.
Members of Corallovexiidae are found primarily in the waters near Curaçao, but unknown species have been found near the coasts of the Labrador Sea. [1] [3] Depending on the species of Corallovexiidae and the species of the host, they can be found anywhere from 0.5 - 40m deep, usually on the ocean floor. The most abundant species of Corallovexiidae is Corallovexia brevibrachium. [1]
The following is a table of preferred depths and common hosts for members of the Corallovexiidae family:
A polyp in zoology is one of two forms found in the phylum Cnidaria, the other being the medusa. Polyps are roughly cylindrical in shape and elongated at the axis of the vase-shaped body. In solitary polyps, the aboral end is attached to the substrate by means of a disc-like holdfast called a pedal disc, while in colonies of polyps it is connected to other polyps, either directly or indirectly. The oral end contains the mouth, and is surrounded by a circlet of tentacles.
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Anthozoa is a class of marine invertebrates which includes the sea anemones, stony corals and soft corals. Adult anthozoans are almost all attached to the seabed, while their larvae can disperse as part of the plankton. The basic unit of the adult is the polyp; this consists of a cylindrical column topped by a disc with a central mouth surrounded by tentacles. Sea anemones are mostly solitary, but the majority of corals are colonial, being formed by the budding of new polyps from an original, founding individual. Colonies are strengthened by calcium carbonate and other materials and take various massive, plate-like, bushy or leafy forms.
Antipatharians, also known as black corals or thorn corals, are an order of soft deep-water corals. These corals can be recognized by their jet-black or dark brown chitin skeletons, surrounded by the polyps. Antipatharians are a cosmopolitan order, existing at nearly every location and depth, with the sole exception of brackish waters. However, they are most frequently found on continental slopes under 50 m (164 ft) deep. A black coral reproduces both sexually and asexually throughout its lifetime. Many black corals provide housing, shelter, food, and protection for other animals.
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Pillar coral is a hard coral found in the western Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea. It is the only species in the monotypic genus Dendrogyra. It is a digitate coral -that is, it resembles fingers or a cluster of cigars, growing up from the sea floor without any secondary branching. It is large and can grow on both flat and sloping surfaces at depths down to 20 m (65 ft). It is one of the few types of hard coral in which the polyps can commonly be seen feeding during the day.
The organ pipe coral is an alcyonarian octocoral native to the waters of the Indian Ocean and the central and western regions of the Pacific Ocean. It is the only known species of the genus Tubipora. This species is a soft coral but with a unique, hard skeleton of calcium carbonate that contains many organ pipe-like tubes. On each tube is a series of polyps which each have eight feather-like tentacles. These tentacles are usually extended during the day, but will swiftly withdraw with any sort of disturbance. The skeleton is a bright red color, but is typically obscured by numerous polyps. Because of this, living colonies are typically green, blue, or purple due to the color of the expanded polyps. Colonies are typically dome-shaped and can reach up to 3 meters across, while the individual polyps are typically less than 3 mm wide and a few mm long. They are close relatives to other soft coral and sea fans. This species is a popular aquarium coral due to its ease to maintain, as well as higher tolerance compared to most true corals. However, its popularity presents a problem: along with its potential as an aquarium coral, the species' coloration makes it a popular commodity for tourists, leading to a variety of threats to the population.
Monstrilloida is an order of copepods with a cosmopolitan distribution in the world's oceans. The order contains a single family, Monstrillidae. The name of the first ever described genus Monstrilla is derived from latin, meaning "tiny monster", because the lack of usual diagnostic features of copepods puzzled early taxonomists.
Porites astreoides, commonly known as mustard hill coral or yellow porites, is a colonial species of stony coral in the family Poritidae.
Tubastraea, also known as sun coral or sun polyps, is a genus of coral in the phylum Cnidaria. It is a cup coral in the family Dendrophylliidae.
Tritonicula hamnerorum is a species of dendronotid nudibranch. It is a marine gastropod mollusc in the family Tritoniidae. A number of Caribbean species of Tritonia were moved to a new genus Tritonicula in 2020 as a result of an integrative taxonomic study of the family Tritoniidae.
Alcyoniidae is a family of leathery or soft corals in the phylum Cnidaria.
Porites lobata, known by the common name lobe coral, is a species of stony coral in the family Poritidae. It is found growing on coral reefs in tropical parts of the Indian and Pacific Oceans.
Leptogorgia hebes, commonly known as the regal sea fan or false sea fan, is a species of soft coral in the family Gorgoniidae. It was formerly included in the genus Lophogorgia but that genus has been dismantled.
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Panulirus guttatus, the spotted spiny lobster or Guinea chick lobster, is a species of spiny lobster that lives on shallow rocky reefs in the tropical West Atlantic and Caribbean Sea.
Rhytisma fulvum, the sulphur leather coral, is a species of colonial soft coral in the family Alcyoniidae. It is native to shallow reefs in the Red Sea and the Indo-Pacific region. It was first described by the Swedish naturalist Peter Forsskål in 1775.
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