Article
Article
Branchiura
Article By:
Fleminger, Abraham Scripps Institution of Oceanography, La Jolla, California.
Last reviewed:October 2019
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1036/1097-8542.093600
A subclass of the Crustacea known as the fish lice. They are ectoparasites of freshwater and marine fish on such areas as the base of fins and the gill chamber walls. Argulus (see illustration) is a common genus. They are a small homogeneous group, less than 100 species, with worldwide distribution, and very much alike in appearance. The disklike head and thorax (cephalothorax) is strongly flattened and bears a small unsegmented abdomen bilobed at its distal end. Larger species may exceed 1 in. (25 mm) in length.
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