fish louse

fish louse, any member of the crustacean subclass Branchiura, a group of parasites of migratory marine and freshwater fishes. Of the approximately 120 known species, most belong to the genus Argulus. The fish louse has a very distinctive oval-shaped, flattened body formed by a broad carapace. Other notable physical features include compound eyes, a pair of large suckers, four pairs of branched thoracic swimming limbs, and a tiny unsegmented abdomen. The body measures about 10 to 30 mm (0.4 to 1.2 inches) long. Most fish lice are effective swimmers, but many species tend to move through the water by a somersaulting action. They attach themselves to the skin of the host with their strong suckers, and they feed on its blood or mucus by using modified disklike piercing and sucking mouthparts. Unlike many related parasitic crustaceans, they deposit their eggs rather than carry them attached to the body.