Hi!
I just got the answer from Joachim Langaneck (University of Pisa) that the
animal is a parasitic copepode of the genus Pennella. It is parasite on big
fishes and morfologically very different from usual copepodes because of
his parasitic way of life. Mistery solved! :-) I would have never said it's
a copepode.
Thank you everybody for you help.
Barbara
On 22 Jun 2018 3:33 pm, "Alexander Muir" <a.muir from nhm.ac.uk> wrote:
Dear Barbara,
The worm appears to be in a transparent tube partially covered in
vegetation. Was the head embedded in a wound on a dead fish? Fauchald's
Pink Book says (page 104) that some onuphids may actively hunt for debris
to eat.
I have seen oligochaetes with branchiae at the tail end of the body, but I
haven't got a modern onuphid reference book in front of me at the moment.
Alex.
Mr. A.I. Muir,
Invertebrates Division, Life Sciences Department, The Natural History
Museum, Cromwell Road, South Kensington, LONDON SW7 5BD, UNITED KINGDOM
Tel: +44 (0)20 7942 5609
-----Original Message-----
From: annelida-bounces from oat.bio.indiana.edu [mailto:
annelida-bounces from oat.bio.indiana.edu] On Behalf Of Barbara Mikac
Sent: 22 June 2018 14:03
To: Annelida from magpie.bio.indiana.edu
Subject: [Annelida] unknown wormlike fish parasite
Dear colleagues,
My friend from a Natural History Museum in Rijeka (Croatia) sent me photos
of this parasite found on a marine fish Lichia amia. We are wondering what
it could be. Could you try to help us, please?
The fish itself was in quite bad state and the parasite was attached to its
ventral side protruding out of the belly. It is 11 cm long, full of blood
and little bit similar to a leech, but having some kind of dense
tentacules/cirri along the body (as you will se on the photos).
If you think it could be something interesting and need photos of body
details we can make them (the specimen is conserved in alcohol).
Courious to hear your opinion and thanks for the help.
Barbara
_____________
Barbara Mikac
Teacher of Bology, microbiology and healthcare control Institute of Higher
Education "Ettore Majorana"
Technical and technological Institute - Healthcare biotechnologies Via
Caselle 26
40068 San Lazzaro di Savena
Bologna
Italy
