Copepods

Ribbon Louse
Copepod

Most copepods are harmless plankters or bottom dwellers. In fact, copepods are the most numerous of all crustaceans in terms of both species and population. However, since they generally range in size from 1/16" to 1/2 ", they are not of much interest to divers.

The Ribbon Louse ( Lernaeenicus spp. far right, 1 inch to 1 foot ) is a fish parasite. I have observed these bizarre creatures only in the aquarium. The head ( at lower left ) is buried in the body of the host, while the worm-like body hangs outside. Only the twin tails betray its true and almost unrecognizable nature - this is a copepod crustacean. And this is not even the extreme of crustacean evolution - some parasitic barnacles live completely inside their host, actually melding with the host's flesh until the two are inseparable, like some kind of science fiction nightmare.

Copepods
Planktonic copepods

Basking Shark

Cetorhinus maximus

Size:
to 45 ft

Habitat:
open ocean

Notes:
harmless

The Basking Shark is second in size only to the Whale Shark, and much more likely to be spotted in our cool northern waters. Like the Whale Shark, the Basking Shark is a harmless plankton feeder. While the Whale Shark has a brown and cream checkerboard pattern on its back, the Basking Shark is more uniformly gray, making identification easy. It also differs in profile: while the Whale Shark has a broad square snout, the Basking Shark has a pointed conical snout, much like its cousin the Great White, for which it may be mistaken.

Printed from njscuba.net