Abstract
We report a significant range extension of the parasitic isopod Oculophryxus bicaulis Shields & Gomez, 1996 (Epicaridea, Dajidae) in the South China Sea (13°26'N 112°38'E). The parasite was found on Stylocheiron affine Hansen, 1910 (Western Equatorial form) and S. longicorne G. O. Sars, 1883 (short form). This species was previously found along the west coast of Baja California, Mexico (20-29°N 112-118°W) on the euphausiid S. affine (California Current and Eastern Equatorial forms) and in the Gulf of Mexico (25°33'55N 88°27'5W) attached to S. longicorne (long form). Given that the host species are broadly distributed in the Pacific and Indian Oceans (S. affine) and elsewhere (cosmopolitan for S. longicorne), we suggest O. bicaulis has a broad, circumtropical range. This isopod has been found attached to three of the five ecophenotypic forms of S. affine and two of the three forms of S. longicorne. We propose that the ratio of the widths of the lower and upper portion of the eyes of the host (a character used to differentiate morphs) is a factor in the successful transmission or attachment of the parasite.
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