Whale Lice on Gray Whale Calf | Baja Peninsula, Mexico

This gray whale calf (Eschrichtius robustus) hosts a population of commensal barnacles (Cryptolepas rhachianecti) and whale lice (Cyamus scammoni) which are amphipods that scavenge for food on the whale's body, including the whale's skin and flesh. There is sexual dimorphism among adult Cyamus scammoni, so the large individuals visible in this photograph are male. The females are smaller. Unlike the young of most other marine crustaceans, which have a planktonic larval stage, juvenile whale lice mature in a pouch-like structure called the marsupium, which is located on the underside of females.

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Filename: whale-lice-cyamus-scammoni-on-gray-whale-baja-mexico-201302-0378.tif
Copyright: Copyright Tony Wu. All rights reserved. No duplication in any form without prior written consent.
Image Size: 5377x3585 / 55.3MB; https://www.photoshelter.com/support/license#rm; https://www.tony-wu.com/contact-tony-wu; Animalia Baja Peninsula Calf Cetartiodactyla Cetacea Chordata CITES Appendix 1 Eschrichtiidae Eschrichtius robustus Filter Feeder Gray Whale Grey Whale Juvenile Least Concern: IUCN Red List Magdalena Bay Mammalia Marine Mammal Mexico Mysticete Mysticeti Pacific Whale Crustacean Barnacle Arthropoda Crustacea Maxillipoda Sessilia Coronulidae Cryptolepas rhachianecti Gray Whale Barnacle Whale Lice Malacostraca Amphipoda Cyamidae Cyamus scammoni
Contained in galleries: Gray Whales

This gray whale calf (Eschrichtius robustus) hosts a population of commensal barnacles (Cryptolepas rhachianecti) and whale lice (Cyamus scammoni) which are amphipods that scavenge for food on the whale's body, including the whale's skin and flesh. There is sexual dimorphism among adult Cyamus scammoni, so the large individuals visible in this photograph are male. The females are smaller. Unlike the young of most other marine crustaceans, which have a planktonic larval stage, juvenile whale lice mature in a pouch-like structure called the marsupium, which is located on the underside of females.