Friday Parasite #13: Another Weird Crustacean

 

Hyperia galba is a tiny crustacean called an amphipod. It's pretty cute, as crustaceans go, with those big green eyes. But it lives in the weirdest host – jellyfish.

A jellyfish is a fairly insubstantial sort of animal, -- their bodies are made of two layers of cells separated by some thick jello-like material. You might not think there’d be enough food there to sustain a parasite. But if you look in their guts, you find loads of empty nematocysts. Only cnidarians (like jellyfish) make nematocysts, so it’s clear that H. galba is chowing down on what little tissue is there. Given that the nematocysts are how jellyfish catch their prey, it'd be interesting to know how these amphipods don't wind up with a case of terminal indigestion.


Reference:
Dahl, E. 1959. The amphipod, Hyperia galba, an ectoparasite of the jelly-fish Cyanea capillata. Nature 183:1749.

Image from Fisheries Research Services, Scotland.

Comments

[dervis]

ı am master student. and my research field is parasitic isopods...please send me whatever you have a information...my regards

[Pramish]

Well what should i say, this site is pretty cool and yes, i want to know more about nematodes!