About Lepeophtheirus salmonis

The salmon louse, Lepeophtheirus salmonis is a species of copepod in the genus Lepeophtheirus. It is a sea louse, a parasite living mostly on salmon, particularly on Pacific and Atlantic salmon and sea trout, but is also sometimes found on the three-spined stickleback. It feeds on the mucus, skin and blood of the fish. Once detached, they can be blown by wind across the surface of the sea, like plankton. When they encounter a suitable marine fish host, they adhere themselves to the skin, fins, or gills of the fish, and feed on the mucus or skin. Sea lice only affect fish and are not harmful to humans.

Picture credit: Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons (Image source) Taxonomy ID 72036

(Text from Wikipedia.)

More information General information about this species can be found in Wikipedia

Taxonomy ID 72036

Data source Department of Biology, University of Victoria

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