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Parasites
Posted: Thu Oct 15, 2015 4:53 pm
by derekcs
I took a closeup picture of a flounder's eye on a night dive at Redondo and noticed all these marks. They look like parasitic isopods or copepods, but they seem like cartoon drawings. Anyone know what these critters are exactly?
Re: Parasites
Posted: Thu Oct 15, 2015 10:52 pm
by Greg Jensen
They are branchiurans, a type of parasitic crustacean. They are often referred to as "fish lice" but that name is also given to some very similar-looking parasitic copepods. The easy way to tell them apart is that branchiurans have a pair of eyes and copepods don't.
Re: Parasites
Posted: Fri Oct 16, 2015 12:36 am
by derekcs
Thanks so much!