Redman's Gill Louse
Livoneca redmanii
Geographic range 2
Livoneca redmanii is distributed along the Atlantic and Gulf coasts of the United States, ranging from Wood Holes, Massachusetts to the Mississippi River.
Biogeographic Regions: atlantic ocean (Native )
Physical description 3
Livoneca redmanii is generally light brown with black chromatophores throughout life. This parasite has an ovate body, with an average width of 13 mm and an average length of 21 mm. The head is as wide as long, usually 3 mm, and has indistinct eyes situated post-laterally and two pairs of antennae. The first pair of antennae are separated by 1 mm and are composed of six to seven articles, whereas the second pair have eight to nine articles. The thorax contains seven segments. The first five are each about 2 mm and the last two are about 1 1/2 mm. The abdomen is not set in the thorax. It is slightly narrower than the thorax and has six segments, which gradually decrease in width. The uropoda are equal in length. The inner branch is larger than the outer one by about one half. The legs, which are the most pertinent feature for this parasite's lifestyle, have curved dactyli for grasping on to the fish.
Average length: 21 mm.
Other Physical Features: ectothermic ; heterothermic ; bilateral symmetry
Habitat 4
Livoneca redmanii is found in aquatic environments on marine fish along coastal areas, specifically in the Atlantic coast and Gulf of Mexico. It commonly parasitizes Pomatomus saltatrix (bluefish), Morone saxatilis (striped bass), and Birdiella chrysura (silver perch).
Habitat Regions: saltwater or marine
Aquatic Biomes: coastal
Other Habitat Features: intertidal or littoral
Development 5
As a species in the family Cymothoidae, Livoneca redmanii is likely a protandrous, hermaphroditic gill parasite. Free living planktonic larva can remain free-swimming for a restricted amount of time without a host, about 1-2 weeks. They may alternate between parasitic and free-living stages during the transition to functional male stages. Early in life it is a parasitic male within the gill chamber of the host fish. Later it transforms into a female, which can bear free living young in the marsupium, while still in the gill chamber. The exact stimulus initiating the sex change is not clear. It may be the presence of a new male entering the gill chamber. Due to the varying sizes of females and males, it appears that the male will undergo the sex change molt when a second male attempts to establish on the same host. Nevertheless, studies have shown that sex change does happen under neuroendocrine control.
Link to Access Genomic Data 6
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/nuccore/?term=txid1798859[Organism:noexp]
Sources and Credits
- (c) Jose Nunez, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-ND), uploaded by Jose Nunez
- (c) The Regents of the University of Michigan and its licensors, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA), http://eol.org/data_objects/18655441
- (c) The Regents of the University of Michigan and its licensors, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA), http://eol.org/data_objects/18655443
- (c) The Regents of the University of Michigan and its licensors, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA), http://eol.org/data_objects/18655442
- Adapted by matbio from a work by (c) The Regents of the University of Michigan and its licensors, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA), http://eol.org/data_objects/18655444
- (c) Emily Rose Sharkey, all rights reserved
