Greenland sharks can live to 400+ yrs.
Retaining the ability to SEE that long is remarkable, but they also deal with high pressures, low temps & almost universal eye parasites, a type of copepod crustacean.
The remarkable finding here for me is that they can see IN SPITE OF THE PARASITES.
Retaining the ability to SEE that long is remarkable, but they also deal with high pressures, low temps & almost universal eye parasites, a type of copepod crustacean.
The remarkable finding here for me is that they can see IN SPITE OF THE PARASITES.
Finally out! We studied the retinas of the longest-living vertebrate, the Greenland shark, and found that the retinas remain remarkably healthy in animals around 150 years old. What is the mechanism? It may be a highly efficient DNA repair system. Enjoy!
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
January 6, 2026 at 2:09 AM
Greenland sharks can live to 400+ yrs.
Retaining the ability to SEE that long is remarkable, but they also deal with high pressures, low temps & almost universal eye parasites, a type of copepod crustacean.
The remarkable finding here for me is that they can see IN SPITE OF THE PARASITES.
Retaining the ability to SEE that long is remarkable, but they also deal with high pressures, low temps & almost universal eye parasites, a type of copepod crustacean.
The remarkable finding here for me is that they can see IN SPITE OF THE PARASITES.
There was also a tantalizing possibility of mutual benefit, as the copepod was possibly bioluminescent, making it attractive as "bait".
What this paper shows is that the copepods aren't interfering (much) with light transmission to the retina.
Such a cool shark with a /robust/ visual system!
What this paper shows is that the copepods aren't interfering (much) with light transmission to the retina.
Such a cool shark with a /robust/ visual system!
Greenland shark, facts and photos
www.nationalgeographic.com
January 6, 2026 at 2:09 AM
There was also a tantalizing possibility of mutual benefit, as the copepod was possibly bioluminescent, making it attractive as "bait".
What this paper shows is that the copepods aren't interfering (much) with light transmission to the retina.
Such a cool shark with a /robust/ visual system!
What this paper shows is that the copepods aren't interfering (much) with light transmission to the retina.
Such a cool shark with a /robust/ visual system!
I'm going to hide this image, in case you're very squeamish.
It shows what a copepod parasite (Ommatokoita elongata) looks like in the cornea of the Greenland shark. No gore, just 'worm'.
I had always heard this blinded the shark, but they didn't rely on vision in the dark, cold depths.
It shows what a copepod parasite (Ommatokoita elongata) looks like in the cornea of the Greenland shark. No gore, just 'worm'.
I had always heard this blinded the shark, but they didn't rely on vision in the dark, cold depths.
January 6, 2026 at 2:09 AM
I'm going to hide this image, in case you're very squeamish.
It shows what a copepod parasite (Ommatokoita elongata) looks like in the cornea of the Greenland shark. No gore, just 'worm'.
I had always heard this blinded the shark, but they didn't rely on vision in the dark, cold depths.
It shows what a copepod parasite (Ommatokoita elongata) looks like in the cornea of the Greenland shark. No gore, just 'worm'.
I had always heard this blinded the shark, but they didn't rely on vision in the dark, cold depths.
A #copepod I've never seen before. Any ideas? It also has two unknown #cilliate stowaways. #plankton #freshwater #microscopy #zooplankton #biofouling
January 2, 2026 at 9:59 PM
A #copepod I've never seen before. Any ideas? It also has two unknown #cilliate stowaways. #plankton #freshwater #microscopy #zooplankton #biofouling
Using #satellite images to track areas of #copepod abundance
NASA scientists peer into the ocean and discover the tiny creature that keeps the titans of the sea alive - AS USA share.google/ZxAXMWPwzxM7...
NASA scientists peer into the ocean and discover the tiny creature that keeps the titans of the sea alive - AS USA share.google/ZxAXMWPwzxM7...
NASA scientists peer into the ocean and discover the tiny creature that keeps the titans of the sea alive
The loss of this red plankton would weaken almost all predators at the top levels of the food chain. NASA are tracking plankton blooms from space.
share.google
January 4, 2026 at 1:56 AM
Using #satellite images to track areas of #copepod abundance
NASA scientists peer into the ocean and discover the tiny creature that keeps the titans of the sea alive - AS USA share.google/ZxAXMWPwzxM7...
NASA scientists peer into the ocean and discover the tiny creature that keeps the titans of the sea alive - AS USA share.google/ZxAXMWPwzxM7...
And some parting #protist shots - two giant acantharians hand-collected with prey inside (a copepod and maybe a foram) - crazy to see a copepod being digested by an acanth, so curious how the acanth managed to catch it! #microbialsky #microsky #christmasatsea ❤️🌊
December 30, 2025 at 4:29 PM
And some parting #protist shots - two giant acantharians hand-collected with prey inside (a copepod and maybe a foram) - crazy to see a copepod being digested by an acanth, so curious how the acanth managed to catch it! #microbialsky #microsky #christmasatsea ❤️🌊
Merry #crustmas !
Here’s my last parasitic crustacean of the holiday season. Ommatokoita elongata is a copepod that attaches to the eyes of Greenland sharks. Though this usually blinds the shark, it doesn’t seem to harm it much since they live in deep, murky water where sight isn’t that useful.
Here’s my last parasitic crustacean of the holiday season. Ommatokoita elongata is a copepod that attaches to the eyes of Greenland sharks. Though this usually blinds the shark, it doesn’t seem to harm it much since they live in deep, murky water where sight isn’t that useful.
December 25, 2025 at 9:01 PM
Merry #crustmas !
Here’s my last parasitic crustacean of the holiday season. Ommatokoita elongata is a copepod that attaches to the eyes of Greenland sharks. Though this usually blinds the shark, it doesn’t seem to harm it much since they live in deep, murky water where sight isn’t that useful.
Here’s my last parasitic crustacean of the holiday season. Ommatokoita elongata is a copepod that attaches to the eyes of Greenland sharks. Though this usually blinds the shark, it doesn’t seem to harm it much since they live in deep, murky water where sight isn’t that useful.
Never thought I’d have a favorite copepod… but behold Sapphirina! These little copepods are so iridescent they appear bioluminescent! When diving for plankton in the Gulf of California on this expedition, we see them as tiny specks of bright blue light. #zooplankton #oceanography #christmasatsea 🌊
December 21, 2025 at 9:27 PM
Never thought I’d have a favorite copepod… but behold Sapphirina! These little copepods are so iridescent they appear bioluminescent! When diving for plankton in the Gulf of California on this expedition, we see them as tiny specks of bright blue light. #zooplankton #oceanography #christmasatsea 🌊
I bet you’re wondering how many different copepod nauplii I’ve photographed over the last 3 years, aren’t you? Well, I can tell you that it’s 408! Including this little pooper (yes, it poops!)
#marineplankton 🦑
#marineplankton 🦑
December 17, 2025 at 11:50 AM
I bet you’re wondering how many different copepod nauplii I’ve photographed over the last 3 years, aren’t you? Well, I can tell you that it’s 408! Including this little pooper (yes, it poops!)
#marineplankton 🦑
#marineplankton 🦑
Copepod #Crustmas
Get in! 158 examples of Centropages hamatus now in the NPIL database. #marineplankton 🦑
December 13, 2025 at 1:39 PM
Copepod #Crustmas
Discovery of an unidentified species of nicothoid copepod infesting cancrid crabs in Santa Barbara, California
doi.org/10.1002/ecy....
doi.org/10.1002/ecy....
Discovery of an unidentified species of nicothoid copepod infesting cancrid crabs in Santa Barbara, California
Click on the article title to read more.
doi.org
December 13, 2025 at 7:03 PM
Discovery of an unidentified species of nicothoid copepod infesting cancrid crabs in Santa Barbara, California
doi.org/10.1002/ecy....
doi.org/10.1002/ecy....
A busy little Harpacticoida copepod.
#marineplankton 🦑
#marineplankton 🦑
December 12, 2025 at 7:07 PM
A busy little Harpacticoida copepod.
#marineplankton 🦑
#marineplankton 🦑
tried charting the relationships of a copepod and a crustacean
December 9, 2025 at 5:48 PM
tried charting the relationships of a copepod and a crustacean
#Crustmas Day 9
This is one of the prettiest copepods I‘ve found. It‘s called Hersiliodes latericius and was found in coastal waters in Spain
#MarineLife #Copepods #Crustacean
This is one of the prettiest copepods I‘ve found. It‘s called Hersiliodes latericius and was found in coastal waters in Spain
#MarineLife #Copepods #Crustacean
December 9, 2025 at 4:53 PM
#Crustmas Day 9
This is one of the prettiest copepods I‘ve found. It‘s called Hersiliodes latericius and was found in coastal waters in Spain
#MarineLife #Copepods #Crustacean
This is one of the prettiest copepods I‘ve found. It‘s called Hersiliodes latericius and was found in coastal waters in Spain
#MarineLife #Copepods #Crustacean
“The Christmas Copepod”
Big-city CEO falls overboard during a holiday cruise, gets rescued by a very judgmental sea cucumber. The sea cucumber introduces her to a shy deep-sea ecologist. She teaches him joy and about copepods. Naturally, they fall in love.
Big-city CEO falls overboard during a holiday cruise, gets rescued by a very judgmental sea cucumber. The sea cucumber introduces her to a shy deep-sea ecologist. She teaches him joy and about copepods. Naturally, they fall in love.
December 9, 2025 at 3:54 PM
“The Christmas Copepod”
Big-city CEO falls overboard during a holiday cruise, gets rescued by a very judgmental sea cucumber. The sea cucumber introduces her to a shy deep-sea ecologist. She teaches him joy and about copepods. Naturally, they fall in love.
Big-city CEO falls overboard during a holiday cruise, gets rescued by a very judgmental sea cucumber. The sea cucumber introduces her to a shy deep-sea ecologist. She teaches him joy and about copepods. Naturally, they fall in love.
MORE FIISHES
idk I just start just investing in their design and seeing their personality next thing you know, it's gonna be a whole world of NPCs/Fishes that Idk what I'm gonna do besides create a slice-of-life of what they do on a daily basis.
aka Life. #art #fishcharacterdesign #digitalart
idk I just start just investing in their design and seeing their personality next thing you know, it's gonna be a whole world of NPCs/Fishes that Idk what I'm gonna do besides create a slice-of-life of what they do on a daily basis.
aka Life. #art #fishcharacterdesign #digitalart
December 5, 2025 at 10:01 PM
MORE FIISHES
idk I just start just investing in their design and seeing their personality next thing you know, it's gonna be a whole world of NPCs/Fishes that Idk what I'm gonna do besides create a slice-of-life of what they do on a daily basis.
aka Life. #art #fishcharacterdesign #digitalart
idk I just start just investing in their design and seeing their personality next thing you know, it's gonna be a whole world of NPCs/Fishes that Idk what I'm gonna do besides create a slice-of-life of what they do on a daily basis.
aka Life. #art #fishcharacterdesign #digitalart
It’s a baby! This copepod nauplius has just hatched and swims its first strokes 🥹.
#marineplankton 🦑
#marineplankton 🦑
December 3, 2025 at 9:55 PM
It’s a baby! This copepod nauplius has just hatched and swims its first strokes 🥹.
#marineplankton 🦑
#marineplankton 🦑
Ok, I’m going in. Copepod files here I come!
a woman in a car with the words let 's do this on the bottom
ALT: a woman in a car with the words let 's do this on the bottom
media.tenor.com
December 3, 2025 at 1:37 PM
Ok, I’m going in. Copepod files here I come!
Long Term Copepod Culture Houses a Rich Microbial Eukaryotic Community Including New and Known Symbionts onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/... #protists #symbionts #microbiome
December 1, 2025 at 2:00 PM
Long Term Copepod Culture Houses a Rich Microbial Eukaryotic Community Including New and Known Symbionts onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/... #protists #symbionts #microbiome
This cnidarian (probably a sea anemone) planula larva has perhaps bitten off more than it can chew! Normally ovoid, this larva has taken on the shape of its lunch, a copepod! If you look closely, you can see the eye of the eaten crustacean!
#marineplankton 🦑
#marineplankton 🦑
November 29, 2025 at 5:27 PM
This cnidarian (probably a sea anemone) planula larva has perhaps bitten off more than it can chew! Normally ovoid, this larva has taken on the shape of its lunch, a copepod! If you look closely, you can see the eye of the eaten crustacean!
#marineplankton 🦑
#marineplankton 🦑
A female Harpacticoida copepod (possibly Euterpina acutifrons?) under 3 different lighting conditions.
#marineplankton 🦑
#marineplankton 🦑
November 27, 2025 at 10:26 PM
A female Harpacticoida copepod (possibly Euterpina acutifrons?) under 3 different lighting conditions.
#marineplankton 🦑
#marineplankton 🦑
Another colourful copepod nauplius!
#marineplankton 🦑
#marineplankton 🦑
November 25, 2025 at 8:28 PM
Another colourful copepod nauplius!
#marineplankton 🦑
#marineplankton 🦑
Ommatokoita elongata
A parasitic copepod known for attaching to the corneas of Sleeper sharks
#surreal #parasite #weirdart #darkart #contemporaryart #darksurrealism #oilpainter #oilpainting #art #arthropod #arthropodart #lowbrow #lowbrowartist #lowbrowart #WAartist
A parasitic copepod known for attaching to the corneas of Sleeper sharks
#surreal #parasite #weirdart #darkart #contemporaryart #darksurrealism #oilpainter #oilpainting #art #arthropod #arthropodart #lowbrow #lowbrowartist #lowbrowart #WAartist
November 25, 2025 at 3:04 AM
Ommatokoita elongata
A parasitic copepod known for attaching to the corneas of Sleeper sharks
#surreal #parasite #weirdart #darkart #contemporaryart #darksurrealism #oilpainter #oilpainting #art #arthropod #arthropodart #lowbrow #lowbrowartist #lowbrowart #WAartist
A parasitic copepod known for attaching to the corneas of Sleeper sharks
#surreal #parasite #weirdart #darkart #contemporaryart #darksurrealism #oilpainter #oilpainting #art #arthropod #arthropodart #lowbrow #lowbrowartist #lowbrowart #WAartist
A new species of the copepod genus Pseudodiaptomus is described from specimens collected from the Great Barrier Reef, Australia. See more here: doi.org/10.3897/zook...
#copepods #endemicspecies #newspecies
#copepods #endemicspecies #newspecies
November 24, 2025 at 12:38 PM
A new species of the copepod genus Pseudodiaptomus is described from specimens collected from the Great Barrier Reef, Australia. See more here: doi.org/10.3897/zook...
#copepods #endemicspecies #newspecies
#copepods #endemicspecies #newspecies