The first installment of 2016’s parasite selfies is about the Class Monogenea, which includes thousands of species of mostly microscopic
critters (typically under 2 mm) that are found on the external surface of a
fish, and are usually very host specific. They have unique attachment organs, called
haptors, which come in a wide variety of shapes and sizes and are one of the
best aids for identification. Together, the arrangement, shape and size of hooks,
anchors, suckers and/or clamps are unique to each species. The haptor is
located at the posterior end of the body while the adhesive head organs,
including the pharynx and mouth, are located at the anterior end. One of the
reasons I chose Class Monogenea for this blog post is because the shape of the muscular
pharynx (Figure 1) resembles the all too common “duckface” selfie that seems to
have infiltrated the social media accounts of celebrities and young college
girls alike. Regular perpetrators of this stereotypical expression include
celebrities like Kim Kardashian, Nicki Minaj, and the man who may be regarded
as the father of the duckface phenomena, the one and only Derek Zoolander
(#BlueSteele). I myself succumbed to the duckface craze during my undergrad
days, and while embarrassing, the similarity between myself and a tiny, hungry
parasite is too striking not to share. Do you see it?!
 |
| Figure 1. Duckface
selfie. The monogenean shown is a species of Rhabdosynochus, which infects common snook, Centropomus undecimalis, in Florida waters. The arrow points to the
muscular pharynx, which has been edited in color for your viewing pleasure, and
to match the shade of my lipstick. Photo credit: FWC, Fish and Wildlife Health
group for the image of Rhabdosynochus. |
