APHOTOMARINE
An educational resource dedicated mainly to the photography
and diversity of marine life that can be found in coastal waters
and intertidal areas of Great Britain and Ireland by David Fenwick.
Possibly Opechona sp. - A parasitic trematode (Marine flatworms)
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Marine flatworm
Opechona sp.?
- parasitic trematode 1
Opechona sp.?
- parasitic trematode 1
Marine flatworm
Opechona sp.?
- parasitic trematode 2
Marine flatworm
Opechona sp.?
- parasitic trematode 3
Marine flatworm
Opechona sp.?
- within Leuckartiara bell 1
Marine flatworm
Opechona sp.?
- within Leuckartiara bell 2
Marine flatworm
Opechona sp.?
- within Leuckartiara bell 3
Species above found within the hydroid Leuckartiara octona which was found drifting in low numbers around Newlyn Marina, Newlyn, Cornwall. 07.06.15.
Marine flatworm
Opechona sp.?
- within Leuckartiara bell 4
Marine flatworm
Opechona sp.?
- within Leuckartiara bell 5
Marine flatworm
Opechona sp.?
- within Leuckartiara bell 6
Marine flatworm
Opechona sp.?
- on Leuckartiara tentacle 1
Marine flatworm
Opechona sp.?
- dorsal view 1
Marine flatworm
Opechona sp.?
- dorsal view 2
Species above found within the hydroid Leuckartiara octona which was washed-up near the low tide mark at Sennen Cove, West Cornwall. 08.07.14. About twelve specimens of Leuckartiara octona were found many containing one or two very small potentially parasitic trematodes.
Marine flatworm
Opechona sp.?
- on ctenophore larva 1
Marine flatworm
Opechona sp.?
- on ctenophore larva 2
Specimen found in a sample of plankton from Newlyn Harbour, Newlyn, Cornwall, 10.05.18.
Dr. Rod Bray Department of Life Sciences, Natural History Museum, stated, the prominent eyespots suggest that the species here may well be Opechona. First host is a prosobranch gastropod.
Leuckartiara octona is reported by Russell as being a second host of Opechona bacillaris (Molin, 1859) Dollfus, 1927.
Images used here show a potential parasite of the hydroid Leuckartiara octona, and possibly one of the genus Opechona. Opechona or Opechona bacillaris cannot be confirmed without further microscopic examination or molecular analysis.
The main objective of this website is in furthering environmental awareness and education through the medium of photography. To increase awareness and access to the wildlife of the region and help
people find and identify it. Sometimes the difference between species is obvious but many species can only be determined by observing microscopic characteristics that are specific to any one species.