Fish-lice

Code OK999999

See Key to Families of Australian Aquatic Crustacea

A class or subclass of crustaceans (with segmented, chitin-encased body and articulated appendages) that are strongly dorso-ventrally compressed (flattened), oval-shaped, with strongly reduced abdomen and with few thoracic appendages. All branchiurans belong to a single family, the Argulidae (Code OK019999) . All argulids are ectoparasitic on marine or freshwater fish, feeding on blood and mucus. Although parasitic, many species retain mobility and can swim or crawl free from their host. Attachment to the host is via maxillules developed as ventral suckers.

The Australian species of Argulus are reported from aquaria, from golden carp (both perhaps introduced), from a native species from trout gudgeon in eastern Australia and an unknown host in Western Australia. A second genus, Dolops , was reported as an ectoparasite on a galaxiid in the late, lamented Lake Pedder, Tasmania.

Reference:

Williams, W.D. (1980) Australian Freshwater Life: The Invertebrates of Australian Inland Waters. The Macmillan Company of Australia, Melbourne.