Thompsonia (barnacle)
Encyclopedia
Thompsonia is a genus of barnacle
Barnacle
A barnacle is a type of arthropod belonging to infraclass Cirripedia in the subphylum Crustacea, and is hence related to crabs and lobsters. Barnacles are exclusively marine, and tend to live in shallow and tidal waters, typically in erosive settings. They are sessile suspension feeders, and have...

 which has evolved into an endoparasite on other crustacean
Crustacean
Crustaceans form a very large group of arthropods, usually treated as a subphylum, which includes such familiar animals as crabs, lobsters, crayfish, shrimp, krill and barnacles. The 50,000 described species range in size from Stygotantulus stocki at , to the Japanese spider crab with a leg span...

s, including crab
Crab
True crabs are decapod crustaceans of the infraorder Brachyura, which typically have a very short projecting "tail" , or where the reduced abdomen is entirely hidden under the thorax...

s and mantis shrimp
Mantis shrimp
Mantis shrimp or stomatopods are marine crustaceans, the members of the order Stomatopoda. They are neither shrimp nor mantids, but receive their name purely from the physical resemblance to both the terrestrial praying mantis and the shrimp. They may reach in length, although exceptional cases of...

. It spreads through the host's body as a network of threads, and produces many egg capsules which emerge through joints in the host's shell. The following species are recognised:
  • Thompsonia affinis Krüger, 1912
  • Thompsonia chuni Häfele, 1911
  • Thompsonia cubensis Reinhard & Stewart, 1956
  • Thompsonia edwardsi Coutière, 1902
  • Thompsonia globosa Kossmann, 1872
  • Thompsonia haddoni Coutière, 1902
  • Thompsonia japonica Häfele, 1911
  • Thompsonia littoralis Lützen & Jespersen, 1990
  • Thompsonia pilodiae Lützen & Jespersen, 1990
  • Thompsonia reinhardi Lützen, 1992
  • Thompsonia sinensis Keppen, 1877

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