Doridicola agilis, another copepod associate

August 22, 2007
From: Marco Faasse

Doridicola agilis is a copepod associated with several species of nudibranchs in the Atlantic Ocean. The exact nature of the association, commensal or otherwise, seems not to be known. There are some reports of this copepod on damaged slugs. However, this concerns only a small minority of the observations. The copepod may be whitish, brownish or orange. The latter colour variety is often the most easy to spot and is beautiful when observed in detail. The specimen on the photos is associated with Janolus cristatus.

Locality: Goesse Sas, Oosterschelde, appr. 10 m, The Netherlands, North Sea, NE Atlantic, 11 August 2001, Boulder slope with bryozoans. Length: appr. 1 mm. Photographer: Marco Faasse.

Marco Faasse

mafaasse@hetnet.nl

Faasse, M.A., 2007 (Aug 22) Doridicola agilis, another copepod associate. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/20512

Dear Marco,

Thanks for these wonderful shots. Many tropical opisthobranchs have similar copepod associates. It would be interesting to know just how species specific the associations are.

Best wishes,
Bill Rudman

Rudman, W.B., 2007 (Aug 22). Comment on Doridicola agilis, another copepod associate by Marco Faasse. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/20512

Factsheet

Opisthobranch parasites

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