Worm-Like Parasite Barnacles Retrieved From Female Greenland Shark's Cloaca

Greenland sharks have a long lifespan. However, they are often accompanied by parasites, and a new one was retrieved by researchers.

Worm-Like Parasite Retrieved From a Greenland Shark

Several documentaries have focused on parasitic worms in numerous wildlife programs. Eric Ste-Marie, a researcher at the University of Windsor, recently discovered a parasite in Greenland sharks - a barnacle, Forbes reported.

The parasitic barnacle (Anelasma squalicola) resembles the pedunculate or stalked barnacles in general body shape. However, senior Cal Academy researcher Bob van Syoc noticed one significant difference.

According to him, The stalk has undergone several changes that enable it to serve as a feeding appendage rather than just an attachment point. It embeds itself in the host shark and takes nourishment from the host tissues. The thoracic limbs (cirri), used for filter-feeding in other stalked barnacles, have atrophied to the point where they are no longer functional.

Anelasma squalicola is only discovered as a parasite of relatively uncommon deep-water sharks. However, several species of shark in the families Etmopteridae and Scyliorhinidae have been reported to be parasitized by this species.

However, the specimen obtained from a Greenland shark's cloaca was a new scientific discovery. This suggests that Anelasma squalicola is a relict species, perhaps a living fossil if you will.

The burgundy mantle of an Anelasmasqualicola specimen was visible emerging from the cloaca of a female Greenland shark on Aug. 14, 2018, when the researchers were scientifically fishing for Greenland sharks for electronic tagging and metabolic rate research, according to Ste-Marie.

They retrieved the specimen from the shark and kept it in ethanol in the field. It was later frozen in preparation for molecular studies, dissection, and identification.

The barnacle sampled is of species A. squalicola, according to both morphological and molecular evidence. Considering the A. squalicola samples, the researchers were uncertain if the case was atypical or common.

The study was published in the Journal of Fish Biology.

As soon as you can, transport the patient to a medical facility. Proenca advised getting help because delaying may put one at higher risk for infections and tetanus.

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What Are Barnacles?

Barnacles are small, clingy crustaceans related to crabs, lobsters, and shrimp. Acorn barnacles are the most prevalent of the more than 1,400 species of barnacles that may be found in waterways around the globe.

Anyone who has ever maintained a vessel knows that getting rid of barnacles takes effort. Because of this, some boaters refer to them as "crusty foulers," according to National Ocean Service.

How do barnacles adhere to the undersides of boats, other marine creatures, one another, and just about anything else they come into contact with? It has a tensile strength of 5,000 pounds per square inch and adhesive strength of 22 to 60 pounds per square inch.

They secrete a fast-curing cement, one of the strongest natural glues ever discovered. Researchers are trying to determine how the adhesive may be utilized commercially because it is so powerful.

Barnacles prefer busy areas like intertidal zones and underwater volcanoes, where they can grow on solid things like buoys, pilings, and rocks. Whales and other moving objects like ships and boat hulls are particularly susceptible to bothersome creatures.

Large barnacle colonies make ships drag and require more fuel, which has a negative impact on the environment and the economy. According to U.S. Navy estimates, excessive barnacle development on ships can increase weight and drag by as much as 60%, increasing fuel consumption by as much as 40%.