Cymothoa eremita

Japanese: ウオノエ（英語表記）Cymothoa eremita

Class: Malacostraca, Order: Isopoda, Family: Cymothoidea. Females are 2.5cm long and 1.3cm wide, while males are smaller, 7.5mm long and 3.5mm wide. The body is slightly distorted and elongated oval, uniformly pale yellow. The head is small and curved ventrally. They parasitize the oral cavity of coastal fish, and females lack pigment in their eyes. Cymothidae generally parasitize the oral cavity of marine fish, but there are also some species that parasitize freshwater fish, such as Ichthyoxenus japonensis . There are about 250 known species of Cymothidae, but the relationship between host and parasite is limited in many of them. Some species are known to parasitize not only the oral cavity, but also the gill cavity. In some cases, the male is unknown, and there are many cases of protoandrogenous hermaphrodites. (→Crustacea, Arthropods, Isopoda, Malacostraca)

Source: Encyclopaedia Britannica Concise Encyclopedia About Encyclopaedia Britannica Concise Encyclopedia Information

Japanese:

軟甲綱等脚目ウオノエ科 Cymothoidae。雌は体長 2.5cm，幅 1.3cm，雄は小さく，体長 7.5mm，幅 3.5mm。体はややゆがんだ長卵形で，一様に淡黄色。頭部は小さく，腹側に曲がっている。沿岸にすむ魚類の口腔内に寄生し，雌は眼に色素を欠く。ウオノエ科は一般に海産魚の口腔内に寄生するが，タナゴヤドリムシ Ichthyoxenus japonensis など淡水魚類寄生種も若干いる。ウオノエ科として約 250種が知られているが，宿主と寄生種の関係が限定されているものが多い。口腔内だけではなく，鰓腔などに寄生する種も知られている。雄が未知の場合もあり，また雄性先熟の雌雄同体の例も多い。（→甲殻類，節足動物，等脚類，軟甲類）

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