What am I looking at ?

There is something on this little goby I've never seen before. Maybe a parasite? Anyone have an idea? I included a tight shot of it as well. Thanks, Andy

Hi Andy,

It seems to be a parasite, I think Leslie will be able to tell. I will also move the topic to the critter ID area...

Luiz

Yup, that's a parasitic copepod. It's a small crustacea. The body is highly modified so the only traces of it's ancestry are a few articulated appendages. the two curly-q's are strings of eggs. Some parasitic copepods are highly specialized & only co-exist with one host species which means a long history of co-evolution. Some are less os and will attach to a variety of hosts.

Thanks folks. Pretty cool to find out about these things. Much appreciated.