Parasite: Sea lice

Among the external parasites the best known is the sea lice (Anilocra mediterranea) belonging to the group of crustaceans and can be found attached to the body of some fish. Its whitish, gray or brown body is flattened with a small head and an appendage that serves as a tail, which give it great hydrodynamics. These adaptations make sea lice very good swimmers, in fact they use this resource to change host; so the sea lice takes advantage of the proximity of a fish to stick to it with the help of its three pairs of forelegs that are provided with a kind of hook that fixes it firmly to the unfortunate fish. Once seated, it perforates its skin and absorbs blood and flesh of the animal, which increases its thickness. Their size ranges from 3 cm in males to 5 in females. Sea lice parasite all kinds of fish, and it is quite common to see them in the magres, especially in young specimens, being called PIOJOSOS because of the frequent presence of these parasites in their body. Despite their appearance they are not harmful to man.