Asterocheres lilljeborgi
# Asterocheres lilljeborgi

Asterocheres lilljeborgi is a species of copepod in the family Asterocheridae. It is found in the British Isles and Scandinavia where it is a semi-parasite of starfish. First described as Asterocheres lilljeborgi in 1859 by the Norwegian marine biologist Jonas Axel Boeck, it is the type species of the genus.

## Distribution

The species is found in west and south Norway, south-western Sweden, the Skagerrak, the North Sea, around the coasts of England and northern France as well as the Davis Strait, the Aleutian Islands and Alaska.

## Ecology

A. lilljeborgi is associated with starfish, such as the bloody Henry starfish (Henricia oculata) or the blood star (Henricia sanguinolenta). Some 90% of the starfish examined were parasitised.

