Notes: “These strange beasts are monstrillid copepods (or some prefer monstrilloid). They are parasites on various kinds of benthic animals including polychaetes. Adults are planktonic, non-feeding, and exclusively reproductive. We have never been able to put a name on this specimen. This female has a couple of residual eggs attached to the long caudal filaments that are characteristic of that group of copepods.

Collected from North Inlet, SC using an epibenthic sled (363 µm mesh). This specimen is stained with Rose Bengal.

Submitted by Tracy Buck with information courtesy of Dennis Allen, both of Baruch Marine Field Laboratory, University of South Carolina.