Molecular assessment of three species of Anilocra (Isopoda, Cymothoidae) ectoparasites from Caribbean coral reef fishes, with the description of Anilocra brillae sp. n.

Rachel L Welicky,Paul C Sikkel,Nico J Smit,Kerry A Hadfield

doi:10.3897/zookeys.663.11415

Abstract

A morphological review and molecular characterization of Anilocra haemuli Bunkley Williams & Williams, 1981, were completed using specimens collected from Haemulon flavolineatum Desmarest, 1823 (French grunt) and Epinephelus guttatus Linnaeus, 1758 (red hind). Molecular and morphological data suggest that the isopods parasitizing H. flavolineatum and E. guttatus are different species. The specimens collected from E. guttatus are recognized as a new species, Anilocra brillae sp. n. Differences between Anilocra brillae sp. n. and A. haemuli include but are not limited to the pleonites 1–3 of A. brillae sp. n. being wider than 4–5 and 4–5 subequal, whereas the pleonites 1–2 of A. haemuli are wider than 3–5, and 3–5 are subequal. The seventh pereopod of A. brillae sp. n. is proportionally larger, has more robust setae, and the setae are distributed more extensively over the articles when compared to A. haemuli. Additionally, this study provides the first genetic characterization of three Anilocra spp. from the Caribbean, and is based on mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit gene (COI) for A. haemuli from H. flavolineatum, A. brillae sp. n. from E. guttatus, and A. chromis Bunkley Williams & Williams, 1981 from Chromis multilineata Guichenot, 1853.

Highlights

In the past half-century, taxonomic studies on the fish parasitic isopod genus Anilocra Leach, 1818, have reported nine species from the Caribbean (Bunkley Williams and Williams 1981) and 12 species from Australia (Bruce 1987)
Comparative sequence analysis indicated that there were three distinct species present in the samples based on the host species, A. haemuli from H. flavolineatum, A. chromis from C. multilineata and another undescribed species of Anilocra from E. guttatus
The results of this study provide the first reliable c oxidase subunit gene (COI) sequences for species of Anilocra, and confirm that A. haemuli from H. flavolineatum is morphologically and genetically different than the Anilocra specimens collected from E. guttatus, and are here described as A. brillae sp. n

Summary

Introduction

In the past half-century, taxonomic studies on the fish parasitic isopod genus Anilocra Leach, 1818, have reported nine species from the Caribbean (Bunkley Williams and Williams 1981) and 12 species from Australia (Bruce 1987). This genus of parasite parasitizes the external surfaces of marine fish hosts that inhabit subtropical, tropical, and temperate waters (Smit et al 2014). Anecdotal accounts from both parasitologists and ecologists suggest that records of A. haemuli from Haemulids and Serranids may be two species given the differences in the biology and ecology of these host fishes

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Conclusion