Lepeophtheirus pectoralis Lepeophtheirus pectoralis Lepeophtheirus pectoralis is a species of parasitic copepod. It is a parasite of flatfish, the most frequent hosts being the European flounder ("Platichthys flesus"), the plaice ("Pleuronectes platessa"), and the dab ("Limanda limanda"). It feeds on the mucus, skin and blood of the fish, with oviferous females being found in the pectoral and pelvic fins of the host, while immature individuals and males are found in the rest of the body. Its life cycle consists of five phases and ten stages. The first two stages are free swimming nauplius I and II, while the third stage is the
American smooth flounder such as crustaceans, molluscs and marine worms. American smooth flounder The American smooth flounder ("Pleuronectes putnami") is a flatfish of the family Pleuronectidae. It is a demersal fish that inhabits shallow inshore salt and brackish waters at depths of up to . Its native habitat is the temperate waters of the northwestern Atlantic, from Ungava Bay in Quebec, Canada to Rhode Island, United States. It can grow up to in length. The American smooth flounder is a right-eyed flatfish, resembling the winter flounder in shape and appearance. Its upper side, including the fins, ranges in colour from dark grey to