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Tanaid parasite

Tanaid parasite living inside holothurian skin of a sea cucumber

In the first picture is possible to spot (arrows), thanks to the transparency of the holothurian skin (sea cucumber), two specimens of the tanaid – small, bottom-dwelling marine crustaceans, living inside the holothurian. Here they use their claws to feed on the host skin. In some cases the parasites excavated ‘tunnels’, (picture on the right).

Rights: National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research (NIWA)
Published:03 December 2007Size: 45.1 KB