micro-CT dataset: Aphrodita longipalpa (Aphroditidae: Annelida) parasitized with Veneriserva pygoclava (Dorvilleidae: Annelida)

This is the complete raw micro-CT dataset and the aligned image stacks generated with Nrecon (Bruker).

It shows an adult sized Aphrodita longipalpa specimen, the host of a male and a female endoparasitic Veneriserva pygoclava. The specimen was formalin-fixed and ethanol-preserved and is deposited at the Benthic Invertebrate Collection of Scripps Institution of Oceanography (SIO-BIC A10919). The specimen was stained with a contrast enriching phosphotungstic acid solution (0.3% PTA in 70% ethanol) for 3 weeks before scanning.

A SkyScan 1272 µCT scanner (Bruker microCT, Kontich, Belgium)  was used with the following parameters:  60 kV source voltage, 166 μA source current, 972 ms exposure and a camera resolution of 1224 × 820 px. The voxel resolution was 7.4 μm.