Clausidium vancouverense
Clausidium vancouverense, the red copepod, is a symbiont of the ghost shrimp Neotrypaea californiensis. It is one of six species in the genus Clausidium and is found with its host in the Pacific Ocean from Alaska to Baja California.
Description
Females range in length from. The female is larger than the male, and a female sometimes carries a male attached to her dorsal thorax.Several features separate this copepod from other species in its genus. These include the blade-like seta on the first leg and the small lateral hairs on the setae of the fifth leg on females. In males, the structure of the maxilliped is unique.