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  • Many of the Eden’s whales (Balaenoptera edeni edeni) in the Gulf of Thailand are displaying circular patterns on their skin like the ones visible here on the whale known as Phafun. The cause of these patterns has not been confirmed. It may be an infection, possibly due to a pox virus.
    eden-whale-thailand-possible-skin-in...tif
  • Eden’s whale (Balaenoptera edeni edeni) known as Som Tam exhibiting the skin disease that afflicts this population of whales in the Gulf of Thailand
    balaenoptera-edeni-skin-disease-thai...tif
  • Close-up view of the skin disease afflicting the Eden’s whale (Balaenoptera edeni edeni) known as Somtam. This unknown skin disease in common in the small population of Eden’s whales that reside in the Gulf of Thailand.
    balaenoptera-edeni-skin-disease-thai...tif
  • This is a male hairy frogfish (Antennarius striatus) exhibiting the characteristic lump resulting from infection by the parasitic copepod Sarcotaces pacificus. A maggot-shaped female resides inside the lump, where she lays thousands of eggs. The eggs hatch within the lump and pass through five nauplius development stages before reaching their first copepodid stage, at which point the juvenile parasites are able to infect new hosts.
    antennarius-striatus-striated-frogfi...tif
  • This is a male hairy frogfish (Antennarius striatus) exhibiting the characteristic lump on his head and abdomen resulting from infection by the parasitic copepod Sarcotaces pacificus. A maggot-shaped female resides inside the lump, where she lays thousands of eggs. The eggs hatch within the lump and pass through five nauplius development stages before reaching their first copepodid stage, at which point the juvenile parasites are able to infect new hosts.
    antennarius-striatus-striated-frogfi...tif
  • Alpheus frontalis snapping shrimp infected with a Rhizocephalan parasite, possibly Thompsonia sp. Photographed in the Lembeh Strait in North Sulawesi, Indonesia.
    alpheus-frontalis-snapping-shrimp-rh...tif
  • Alpheus frontalis snapping shrimp infected with a Rhizocephalan parasite, possibly Thompsonia sp. Photographed in the Lembeh Strait in North Sulawesi, Indonesia.
    alpheus-frontalis-infected-rhizoceph...tif
  • This is a small crab infested with a Sacculina barnacle parasite, a genus of barnacles that is a parasitic castrator of crabs. These barnacles are pelagic during their larval stage. Female larvae seek out host crabs. Once a suitable host is located, the female barnacle attaches to a joint area, molts into a form known as a kentrogon, and then injects its soft body into the crab, discarding its hard shell in the process. Once inside, the Sacculina develops into two parts: the interna, which comprises root-like threads that wrap around the crab’s internal organs; and the externa, which is a bulbous reproductive organ that protrudes from the crab’s abdomen, as pictured here. Male Sacculina barnacles inject themselves into a pocket in the female’s body in order to undertake the sole function of producing spermatozoa to fertilize the female. In other words, the male becomes parasitic to the female, which is parasitic to the crab. Once infected, a crab is unable to molt, though it otherwise functions normally. Nutrition that the crab ingests is siphoned off by the barnacle. Even more amazing, when a female Sacculina sets upon a male crab, as pictured here, it sterilizes the crab and causes the male crab to release hormones that cause the shape of the body to change such that it more resembles a female crab, with wider, flatter abdomen. The formerly male crab can even act like a female, performing female mating dances. When the female Sacculina is ready to release her brood into the water, she causes her host crab to do exactly what a female crab would normally do to release her own eggs. Namely, the crab finds high ground, grooms the brooding pouch on its abdomen and shoots out clouds of larvae via the hole visible at the center of the abdominal area, using its claws to stir the water to assist the newborn larvae, in this case barnacle larvae, not crabs. Once infected, a crab devotes its life to the reproduction of Sacculina. There are more than 100 species of Saccu
    sacculina-barnacle-infested-male-cra...tif
  • This is a small crab infested with a Sacculina barnacle parasite, a genus of barnacles that is a parasitic castrator of crabs. These barnacles are pelagic during their larval stage. Female larvae seek out host crabs. Once a suitable host is located, the female barnacle attaches to a joint area, molts into a form known as a kentrogon, and then injects its soft body into the crab, discarding its hard shell in the process. Once inside, the Sacculina develops into two parts: the interna, which comprises root-like threads that wrap around the crab’s internal organs; and the externa, which is a bulbous reproductive organ that protrudes from the crab’s abdomen, as pictured here. Male Sacculina barnacles inject themselves into a pocket in the female’s body in order to undertake the sole function of producing spermatozoa to fertilize the female. In other words, the male becomes parasitic to the female, which is parasitic to the crab. Once infected, a crab is unable to molt, though it otherwise functions normally. Nutrition that the crab ingests is siphoned off by the barnacle. Even more amazing, when a female Sacculina sets upon a male crab, as pictured here, it sterilizes the crab and causes the male crab to release hormones that cause the shape of the body to change such that it more resembles a female crab, with wider, flatter abdomen. The formerly male crab can even act like a female, performing female mating dances. When the female Sacculina is ready to release her brood into the water, she causes her host crab to do exactly what a female crab would normally do to release her own eggs. Namely, the crab finds high ground, grooms the brooding pouch on its abdomen and shoots out clouds of larvae via the hole visible at the center of the abdominal area, using its claws to stir the water to assist the newborn larvae, in this case barnacle larvae, not crabs. Once infected, a crab devotes its life to the reproduction of Sacculina. There are more than 100 species of Saccu
    sacculina-barnacle-infested-male-cra...tif
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