Microcotyle emmelichthyops facts for kids

Microcotyle emmelichthyops is a tiny worm that lives as a parasite on fish. It attaches to the gills of marine fish found near Hawaii. This worm belongs to a group of flatworms called monogeneans, and its family name is Microcotylidae. A parasite is an animal that lives on or inside another animal, called a host, and gets its food from the host.

What Does Microcotyle emmelichthyops Look Like?

Scientists studied 23 of these worms to learn about them. Microcotyle emmelichthyops has a flat body, much like other worms in its family. It can be quite small, ranging from about 2.3 to 11 millimeters long. That's less than half an inch!

Its body has two main parts. The front part holds most of its important organs. The back part is called a haptor, which is a special attachment tool.

How Does It Hold On?

The haptor is symmetrical, meaning it's the same on both sides. It has many tiny clamps, usually between 62 and 115 of them. These clamps are arranged in two rows, one on each side of the haptor. The worm uses these clamps to firmly hold onto the fish's gills.

At the very front of its body, the worm also has two small suckers near its mouth. These help it attach and feed.

How Does It Eat?

This worm has a mouth at its front end. Inside its mouth is a strong, muscular throat called a pharynx. This helps it suck in food. The food then goes into its gut, which has two main branches that extend through its body.

Reproduction

Each adult Microcotyle emmelichthyops has both male and female reproductive parts. This means one worm can produce both sperm and eggs.

Where Does Microcotyle emmelichthyops Live?

This worm was first found on an unknown type of fish from the Emmelichthyops genus. The place where it was first discovered is off the coast of Hawaii.

The scientist Satyu Yamaguti also found two other types of Microcotyle worms in Hawaii. These were Microcotyle polymixiae and Microcotyle bothi, and they were found on different kinds of host fish.