Pseudorhabdosynochus vagampullum facts for kids

Pseudorhabdosynochus vagampullum is a tiny species of monogenean, which is a type of parasitic flatworm. It lives on the gills of a fish called a grouper. This small worm was first discovered and described in 1969. At that time, it was given the name Diplectanum vagampullum. Later, in 1986, scientists moved it to a different group of worms, the Pseudorhabdosynochus genus, because of its features.

What is Pseudorhabdosynochus vagampullum?

Pseudorhabdosynochus vagampullum is a type of flatworm that lives as a parasite. This means it lives on or inside another animal, called a host, and gets its food from the host. For this worm, its host is a fish.

How Does It Look?

This worm is very small, only about 0.4 to 0.5 millimeters long. That's less than half a millimeter! It has a flat body, similar to other worms in its group. At one end of its body, it has a special organ called a haptor. The haptor is like a suction cup or a clamp that the worm uses to hold onto the gills of its host fish. This helps it stay attached even when the fish swims. The haptor also has two disc-like structures called squamodiscs, one on the top and one on the bottom.

Where Does It Live?

The first time Pseudorhabdosynochus vagampullum was found was off Heron Island, which is near Queensland, Australia. This area is known as its "type-locality."

When the worm was first described, scientists thought its host fish was a type of grouper called Epinephelus merra. However, later research by other scientists in 2009 showed that the actual host fish was a different kind of grouper, called Epinephelus quoyanus. This means Epinephelus quoyanus is the only known host for this specific worm. Besides Australia, this worm has also been found living on fish along the coasts of China.