Davies, C.E., G.R. Thomas, T.G.G. Maffeis, E.C. Wootton, M.W. Penny & A.F. Rowley. (2014). Detailed surface morphology of the 'lobster louse' copepod, Nicothoe astaci, a haematophagous gill parasite of the European lobster, Homarus gammarus. Journal Of Invertebrate Pathology. 122:48-51.

194603

10.1016/j.jip.2014.08.006 [view]

Davies, C.E., G.R. Thomas, T.G.G. Maffeis, E.C. Wootton, M.W. Penny & A.F. Rowley

2014

122:48-51.

Publication

http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jip.2014.08.006

Available for editors   [request]

he ectoparasitic copepod, Nicothoë astaci (the ‘lobster louse’), infests the gills of the European lobster, Homarus gammarus. There have been limited studies on this haematophagous species; therefore knowl- edge of this parasite is rudimentary. The current study examines the surface morphology of this parasitic copepod, detached from the host, concentrating on adaptations of the suctorial mouthpart, the oral disc. Cryo-scanning electron microscopy revealed structural adaptations that facilitate attachment of these parasites to the gill filaments of their lobster host. The aperture of the feeding channel, through which host haemolymph is drawn, is only ca. 5 lm in diameter. The edge of the oral disc is lined with numerous setae, whilst the surface of the disc is covered with large numbers of small (<1 lm in diameter) teeth-like structures, which presumably pierce through, and grip, the cuticle lining of the host’s gill. Overall, these structures are thought to provide a ‘vacuum seal’ to assist in pumping of blood, via peristalsis, into the alimentary canal of the copepod host.

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