Phronima amphipod inside a salp. Amphipods are small aquatic crustaceans, which form part of the zooplankton. Phronima is a parasitoid amphipod which

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Phronima amphipod inside a salp. Amphipods are small aquatic crustaceans, which form part of the zooplankton. Phronima is a parasitoid amphipod which attacks salps (barrel-shaped planktonic tunicates). Female Phronima amphipods will hollow out the gelatinous bodies of salps, lay their eggs inside, and then propel the hollowed salps through the water, providing a food source as the larvae develop. Photographed in the Mediterranean Sea.

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Size: 4830px × 7237px
Photo credit: © ALEXANDER SEMENOV/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No

Keywords: -, 1, amphipod, amphipoda, animal, aquatic, arthropod, background, biological, biology, black, crustacean, fauna, female, invertebrate, marine, mediterranean, nature, ocean, parasite, parasitic, parasitoid, phronima, reproduction, reproductive, salp, sea, single, tunicate, underwater, water, wildlife, zoological, zoology, zooplankton