Peer Aquatic Biology
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Shiinoa and Parashiinoa are copepod genera of small and rarely observed fish parasites.
The copepod family Shiinoidae Cressey, 1975 currently comprises nine species of teleost parasites with unusual morphology and a unique attachment mechanism.
The female shiinoids have greatly enlarged antennae facing a rostrum, an elongated outgrowth of the cuticle that arises between the antennae.
The antennae form a movable clamp against the rostrum with which they cling to their host.
The parasites prefer to infest the soft gill-like, well-vascularized tissue in the nostrils (nasal lamellae) of their fish hosts or, more rarely, the skin.
The copepods were discovered on Scomberomorus maculatus, a predatory fish from the mackerel and tuna family.
To visualize the small parasites, the male and female were coloured and magnified using micro-CT.
Literature reference:
Bernot JP, Boxshall GA, Goetz FE, Phillips AJ. 2024.
MicroCT illuminates the unique morphology of Shiinoidae (Copepoda: Cyclopoida), an unusual group of fish parasites.
PeerJ 12:e16966 https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.16966
Copyright © 2024 Bernot et al.
Licence:
This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, reproduction and adaptation in any medium and for any purpose provided that it is properly attributed. For attribution, the original author(s), title, publication source (PeerJ) and either DOI or URL of the article must be cited.
The copepod family Shiinoidae Cressey, 1975 currently comprises nine species of teleost parasites with unusual morphology and a unique attachment mechanism.
The female shiinoids have greatly enlarged antennae facing a rostrum, an elongated outgrowth of the cuticle that arises between the antennae.
The antennae form a movable clamp against the rostrum with which they cling to their host.
The parasites prefer to infest the soft gill-like, well-vascularized tissue in the nostrils (nasal lamellae) of their fish hosts or, more rarely, the skin.
The copepods were discovered on Scomberomorus maculatus, a predatory fish from the mackerel and tuna family.
To visualize the small parasites, the male and female were coloured and magnified using micro-CT.
Literature reference:
Bernot JP, Boxshall GA, Goetz FE, Phillips AJ. 2024.
MicroCT illuminates the unique morphology of Shiinoidae (Copepoda: Cyclopoida), an unusual group of fish parasites.
PeerJ 12:e16966 https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.16966
Copyright © 2024 Bernot et al.
Licence:
This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, reproduction and adaptation in any medium and for any purpose provided that it is properly attributed. For attribution, the original author(s), title, publication source (PeerJ) and either DOI or URL of the article must be cited.
