Gnathia marleyi
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| Farquharson , Smit & Sikkel , 2012 |
Gnathia marleyi is a parasitic cancer from the order of the woodlice . It occurs in the Caribbean and mainly attacks the French grunt , a fish from the sweetlipped and grunt family (Haemulidae).
features
It was only after adult animals were bred from larvae found on fish that the species Gnathia marleyi was identified and described in 2012. The parasitic larval stages had been known for many years.
The cephalothorax of the males looks almost rectangular when viewed from above. The front part of the body (cephalosoma) becomes somewhat narrower towards the rear, so that a small indentation of the cephalothorax is visible on both sides. The front edge of the cephalosoma is slightly indented in the middle and has several small conical projections. The males have a mandible that is almost as long as the cephalosoma. It has 10 to 11 teeth. On the side of the cephalosoma are the two eyes and the antennae pairs . Since the Gnathia species with their broad cephalothorax and large mandibles are reminiscent of the termite soldiers , they are sometimes referred to as "termites of the seas", although they are not related to these insects.
The females also have an almost rectangular caphalothorax. The lateral edges of the cephalosoma are slightly convex, it is around 1.2 times as wide as it is long. The front edge is rounded.
The third larval stage is characterized by a large mandible with 8 large, triangular teeth that point backwards. There are also 2 small teeth at the tip of the mandible. The larvae reach lengths of 0.5 to 3 millimeters during the three larval stages, each of which is completed by a molt.
Occurrence
Gnathia marleyi occurs in the eastern Caribbean, for example off the US Virgin Islands .
Way of life
The three larval stages of Gnathia marleyi and the adults live benthically on the ground between corals, sponges and in seagrass meadows.
Only the juvenile stages of Gnathia marleyi affect fish. In cases in which only the young stages parasitize, we speak of protelian parasitism. The larvae of Gnathia marleyi are helped by chemical sensory perception, which signals the presence of suitable host animals even at night. During the day they could be eaten by their hosts, whose food spectrum they belong to. After some time, during which the larvae cling to the fish's skin in order to feed on their blood and tissue fluid, they drop back to the ground where they molt. It is assumed that the adult animals no longer consume food, but rather feed on the reserves that they have accumulated as parasites in the third larval stage. The sea isopods then live on the ground for several months. During this time they can reproduce.
It is believed that Gnathia marleyi , similar to blood-sucking insects, act as vectors of disease. The transmitted pathogens include hemogregarines , which can lead to a reduction in blood cells and thus to a weakening of the immune system of the fish.
designation
The species name marleyi was chosen out of “respect and admiration” for the music of the reggae musician Bob Marley , who died in 1981 . Paul C. Sikkel, one of the first to describe it, pointed out that the new species was just as unique in the Caribbean as the Jamaican musician Marley was at the time .
Individual evidence
- ↑ Charon Farquharson, Nico J. Smit & Paul C. Sikkel: Gnathia marleyi sp. nov. (Crustacea, Isopoda, Gnathiidae) from the Eastern Caribbean . Zootaxa, 3381, pp. 47-61, 2012
- ^ A b Paul C. Sikkel, Whitney T. Sears, Ben Weldon & Ben C. Tuttle: An experimental field test of host-finding mechanisms in a Caribbean gnathiid isopod. Marine Biology, 158, 5, 1075-1083, 2011
- ^ RR Askew: Parasitic Insects. Heinemann Educational Publishers, London 1971 ISBN 0435620452
- ^ A b National Science Foundation: New parasitic coral reef crustacean named after late reggae performer Bob Marley. Science Daily of July 10, 2012
- ↑ Gnathia marleyi: Parasite species named after Bob Marley. Die Presse Online from July 12, 2012 (accessed June 12, 2012)
literature
- Charon Farquharson, Nico J. Smit & Paul C. Sikkel: Gnathia marleyi sp. nov. (Crustacea, Isopoda, Gnathiidae) from the Eastern Caribbean . Zootaxa, 3381, pp. 47–61, 2012 (first description)
- Paul C. Sikkel, Whitney T. Sears, Ben Weldon, and Ben C. Tuttle: An experimental field test of host-finding mechanisms in a Caribbean gnathiid isopod. Marine Biology, 158, 5, 1075-1083, 2011 doi : 10.1007 / s00227-011-1631-9
Web links
- National Science Foundation: New parasitic coral reef crustacean named after late reggae performer Bob Marley. Science Daily, July 10, 2012 (accessed July 12, 2012)
- Photo of Gnathia marleyi (male)
- Photo of a fish infected by numerous specimens of Gnathia marleyi
- Photo of the larvae of Gnathia marleyi soaked with blood
