Aegidae | |
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Aega psora | |
Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Arthropoda |
Class: | Malacostraca |
Superorder: | Peracarida |
Order: | Isopoda |
Suborder: | Cymothoida |
Superfamily: | Cymothooidea |
Family: | Aegidae White, 1850 |
The Aegidae are a family of isopod crustaceans. The adults are temporary parasites of fish, feeding on their hosts' blood before dropping off to digest the meal.[1] They differ from members of the family Cirolanidae in having only three pairs of hook-like pereiopods, whereas in Cirolanidae all seven pairs of pereiopods are hooked.[2] The family was first described by Adam White in 1850.[3]
The family contains the following genera:[4]