APHOTOMARINE

An educational resource dedicated mainly to the photography
and diversity of marine life that can be found in coastal waters
and intertidal areas of Great Britain and Ireland by David Fenwick.

A-P-H-O-T-O Wildlife Stock Image Library
Unidentified copepod on nudibranch Facelina auriculata - Newlyn, 08.08.18 (Copepod images)
Scroll down and rollover titles to change screen image or click on title to view image.
Unidentified copepod
Parasitic or commensal ?
- on Facelina auriculata 1

Unidentified copepod
Parasitic or commensal ?
- on Facelina auriculata 2

Unidentified copepod
Parasitic or commensal ?
- on Facelina auriculata 3

Unidentified copepod
Parasitic or commensal ?
- on Facelina auriculata 4

Unidentified copepod
Parasitic or commensal ?
- on Facelina auriculata 5

Unidentified copepod
Parasitic or commensal ?
- dorsal view of copepod with 0.1mm division rule 1

Unidentified copepod
Parasitic or commensal ?
- posterior of copepod with 0.1mm division rule 1

The species here is either a parasitic copepod of a nudibranch like Doridicola aff. agilis or Anthessius spp. or is possibly a commensal species that lives with the nudibranch / sea slug host Facelina auriculata.

The specimen was found on a juvenile Facelina auriculata which was in a sample of weed washing taken from Newlyn Marina, Newlyn, Cornwall, 08.08.18. The copepod was observed on the nudibranch for some time and it never wanted to separate from its host despite there being other nudibranchs of different species in the container. Physical removal / capture was also very difficult. The copepod appeared to have exactely the same colouring across its back as the cerata of Facelina auriculata.

The question is, what is it and will it likely be species specific ? Future specimens will be passed to experts for investigation.

Unidentified copepod on nudibranch Facelina auriculata Images
The main objective of this website is in furthering environmental awareness and education through the medium of photography. To increase awareness and access to the wildlife of the region and help
people find and identify it. Sometimes the difference between species is obvious but many species can only be determined by observing microscopic characteristics that are specific to any one species.