Family PENNELLIDAE Burmeister, 1835

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• Pennellidae Burmeister, 1835.

  Type genus:

   Pennella Oken, 1815.

  Secondary source:

   Boxshall, G.A. & Halsey, S.H. 2004. An Introduction to Copepod Diversity. London : The Ray Society 966 pp. [805].

Introduction

Typically pennellid species have two different hosts during their life cycle. Initially, there is a short planktonic stage, after which the copepodid attaches to either a fish or pelagic gastropod mollusc host. Once mating has occurred on the first host, the female leaves to locate a second host, usually another fish, but sometimes a marine mammal. The largest of all copepods belongs to a genus in this family (i.e. Penella), and has a body length up to 250 mm in length. The family comprises 20 genera, and over 90 species. See Boxshall & Halsey (2004: 805) for more details as well as a key to the genera.

ID Keys

For a key to the genera see Boxshall & Halsey (2004).

General References

Boxshall, G.A. & Halsey, S.H. 2004. An Introduction to Copepod Diversity. London : The Ray Society 966 pp.

History of changes