
Most monogeneans live on the skin or gills of fish, however there is an unusual family of monogeneans called the polystomatids that live mostly in the bladder of frogs and turtles. O. hippopotami can be considered even more of an oddball out of a family of oddballs. Not only has it colonised a mammal, it also lives in a peculiar part of its host. As its name implies, it lives in proximity of the hippo's eye, more specifically, under the eyelids. So for all its brazen brawn and strength, the mighty hippo is not immune from being parasitised!
Photo is from this site.
Contributed by Tommy Leung.
what's the pic of?
ReplyDeleteThe pic is the parasite described in this blog post
ReplyDeletethat's pretty interesting
ReplyDelete...and lives apparently exclusively on the tears of the hippo - incredible specialism which I first read in the excellent Fleas Flukes and Cuckoos and have been quoting ever since. Didn't know much else till now, so thanks.
ReplyDelete