Biology:Ommatokoita

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Short description: Genus of crustaceans

Ommatokoita
Greenland shark profile.jpg
On a Greenland shark
Scientific classification edit
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 elongata Grant, 1827
  • Ommatokoita superba Leigh-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 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. 1.0 1.1 "Ommatokoita Leigh-Sharpe, 1926". World of Copepods database. World Register of Marine Species. http://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=135608. 
  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. doi:10.1139/z86-124. https://cdnsciencepub.com/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. doi:10.1046/j.1365-2761.1998.00122.x. 
  4. 4.0 4.1 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:OLAWAO2.0.CO;2]. PMID 12099414. 
  5. Martin, R. Aidan (October 4, 1998). "Greenland sharks and parasites". http://www.elasmo-research.org/education/topics/lh_somniosus.htm. 
  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. doi:10.1038/191829a0. Bibcode1961Natur.191..829B. 

Wikidata ☰ Q15728727 entry