What Are Sea Fleas?

Sea lice, also known as sea fleas, are tiny, parasitic creatures that live on fish. They are copepods of the family Caligidae in the order Siphonostomatoida, and they feed on the host’s epidermal tissue, blood, and mucus. There are 559 species of sea lice in 37 genera. Among them are 162 Lepeophtheirus species and 268 Caligus species.

Although they are tiny and often harmless to humans, sea fleas can be quite aggressive if they find a small cut in your skin, like a scythe or a wound. This type of insect will also attack humans when they are near food or water. Although they are found in both fresh and salt water, sea fleas prefer warm water. They are active during the night to avoid predatory fish.

These creatures live in warm, sandy climates and are mostly found on beaches in the Caribbean and South America. They originated in Africa, where they were common. They are not threatened and have healthy populations throughout the Atlantic coast and Gulf of Mexico. However, they are not good to eat. They have tiny meat, and their shells are too hard to chew. Even frying them will only make them more tasteless.

Sea Fleas have a long and interesting history. Scientists have used them to explore the ocean and document the environment. Their research is credited to Thomas E. Bowman of the Smithsonian Institution and has been published in Proceedings of the Biological Society of Washington.