Rhizocephala
Sign in to saveRhizocephala are derived barnacles that are parasitic castrators. Their hosts are mostly decapod crustaceans, but include Peracarida, mantis shrimps and thoracican barnacles. Their habitats range from the deep ocean to freshwater. Together with their sister groups Thoracica and Acrothoracica, they make up the subclass Cirripedia. Their body plan is uniquely reduced in an extreme adaptation to their parasitic lifestyle, and makes their relationship to other barnacles unrecognisable in the adult form. They also exhibit the most extreme sexual dimorphism of all known animals. The females are para
Species
rhizocephalans
Infraclass
- PhylumArthropoda
- ClassThecostraca
Habitatmarine, brackish, freshwater
Los rizocéfalos (Rhizocephala) son un orden de crustáceos cirrípedos. Particularidades Los rizocéfalos son exclusivamente parásitos de estructura muy sencilla. El nombre "Rhizocephala" se refiere a las "rels" con las que penetran a sus huéspedes. Todas las especies parasitan cangrejos decápodos. Emparentados con los percebes, sólo se parecen a estos en su estadio larvario. Los adultos no tienen ningún miembro ni segmentación visible. Todos los órganos se encuentran anclados dentro del huésped, de tal manera que sólo una "cabeza" o parte externa formada por el aparato reproductor y el sistema nervioso central es visible a simple vista. El rizocéfalo no mata a su huésped, pero el cangrejo huésped acaba en un estado de castración, puesto que el parásito ocupa el lugar de sus órganos genitales. Taxonomía Según la revisión hecha al 2001 por Martin y Davis, los rizocéfalos son un superorden. Orden Akentrogonida Häfele, 1911 Género Pirusaccus Lützen, 1985 Género Polysaccus Lo & Lutzen, 1993 Familia Chthamalophilidae Bocquet-Védrine, 1961 Familia Clistosaccidae Boschma, 1928 Familia Duplorbidae Høeg & Rybakov, 1992 Familia Mycetomorphidae Høeg & Rybakov, 1992 Familia Polysaccid
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Article
12 sectionsContents
- Description
- Adults
- Nauplius and cypris larvae
- Parasitism
- Reproduction
- Classification
- Phylogeny
- External
- Internal
- See also
- References
- External links
Rhizocephala are derived barnacles that are parasitic castrators. Their hosts are mostly decapod crustaceans, but include Peracarida, mantis shrimps and thoracican barnacles. Their habitats range from the deep ocean to freshwater. Together with their sister groups Thoracica and Acrothoracica, they make up the subclass Cirripedia. Their body plan is uniquely reduced in an extreme adaptation to their parasitic lifestyle, and makes their relationship to other barnacles unrecognisable in the adult form. They also exhibit the most extreme sexual dimorphism of all known animals. The females are parasites who inject themselves into a host and take over their bodies through a network of filaments, while the males are hyperparasites who inject themselves into a settled female and cease to exist as independent organisms through the degeneration of all tissues except the ones responsible for spermatogenesis. The name Rhizocephala derives from the Ancient Greek roots (, "root") and (, "head"), describing the adult female, which mostly consists of a network of thread-like extensions penetrating the body of the host.
== Description ==