Ommatokoita is a monotypic genus of copepods, the sole species being Ommatokoita elongata.[1] However, a specimen has been found on the skin of the great lanternshark (Etmopterus princeps), which has been assigned to the genus but not the species.[2]
| Ommatokoita | |
|---|---|
| |
| On a Greenland shark | |
Scientific classification 
| |
| 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] | |
| |
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
edit- ^ a b Walter TC, Boxshall G (eds.). "Ommatokoita Leigh-Sharpe, 1926". World of Copepods database. World Register of Marine Species. Retrieved 25 April 2022.
- ^ 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. Bibcode:1986CaJZ...64..833H. doi:10.1139/z86-124. Retrieved 2021-07-28.
- ^ 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. Bibcode:1998JFDis..21..415B. doi:10.1046/j.1365-2761.1998.00122.x.
- ^ a b 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:OLAWAO]2.0.CO;2. PMID 12099414.
- ^ Martin, R. Aidan (October 4, 1998). "Greenland sharks and parasites".
- ^ 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. Bibcode:1961Natur.191..829B. doi:10.1038/191829a0. S2CID 4262630.
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