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cryptoniscus stage of a parasitic isopod

Location: North Inlet, SC, in a saltmarsh creek; Summer 2006

Notes: Total length = 1.3 mm. This small isopod resembles a harpacticoid copepod at first glance, but the similar and typical isopod legs and the lateral eyes give it away.

Parasitic isopods of the Suborder Epicarida have a complex life cycle involving mutiple stages and several hosts. The free-swimming 'cryptoniscus' stage stage attaches to the definitive (final) host, often a decapod crustacean. Cryptoniscids are not uncommon in nearshore waters, but are seldom abundant. Cryptoniscid This stage


Collected, Photographed, and Submitted by: W. S. Johnson, Goucher College


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