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Review
. 2026 Jan 10;16(2):212.
doi: 10.3390/ani16020212.

An Annotated Checklist of Symbiotic Copepods of Mollusks in the Global Oceans: A Review of Diversity, Hosts and Geographical Distributions

Jing Sun  1   2 , Huidong Ju  3 , Xin Du  1   2 , Congmei Xu  4 , Muhammad Saleem Chang  5 , Ziteng Liu  1   2 , Xiaobing Li  6
Affiliations
Review

An Annotated Checklist of Symbiotic Copepods of Mollusks in the Global Oceans: A Review of Diversity, Hosts and Geographical Distributions

Jing Sun et al. Animals (Basel). .

Abstract

Symbiotic copepods have a wide host group, including not only invertebrates but also vertebrates, with variable symbiotic sites and morphological characteristics. Even though symbiotic copepods exhibit remarkable diversity, our knowledge of them is still very limited, causing significant lacunae in our understanding of their taxonomic characteristics, host associations, and geographical distributions. To fill these knowledge gaps, we have compiled a comprehensive list of symbiotic copepods and their molluscan hosts in the global oceans based on an extensive literature review. The inventory provides a comprehensive synthesis of the diversity, hosts, and geographical distributions of the symbiotic copepods. This review summarizes information on copepods symbiotic with mollusks from 1863 to 2025. Our compilation records a total of 342 symbiotic copepod species associated with more than 435 species of mollusks. This total includes some copepod species for which no specific host has been identified. For each copepod species, we provide details on its hosts, geographical distributions and the original references.

Keywords: copepods; diversity; geographical distributions; hosts; mollusks.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Distribution map of sampling sites. Note: Records without coordinates (data not available) not marked on the map.
Figure 2
Figure 2
The number of symbiotic copepods of mollusks in various realms. Note: Species without clearly defined realms are not represented in the diagram.
Figure 3
Figure 3
(A): Order-level distribution of symbiotic copepods. (B): Composition of families in Cyclopoida. (C): Composition of families in Siphonostomatoida. (D): Composition of families in Harpacticoida.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

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