Thompsonia (crustacean)
Thompsonia is a genus of barnacles which has evolved into an endoparasite of other crustaceans, including crabs and snapping shrimp. 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. Taxonomic history The first scientific description of the genus was Robby Kossmann's description in 1872 of Thompsonia globosa. Kossmann named the genus after John Vaughan Thompson, the Irish naturalist who had recognised the cirripedian affinities of the Rhizocephala. The type specimens had been collected by Georg Semper in the East Indies, on the legs of the crab Lybia tessellata. Eleven species are now 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 References Further reading Barnacles Crustacean genera Parasites of crustaceans Parasitic crustaceans Endoparasites