Abstract
Due to the difficulty in accurately identifying cymothoids, these parasitic isopods are often incorrectly named or confused with other species. Within the genus Ceratothoa, a number of recent studies have aimed at clarifying some of the problematic species; however, several of the less studied species still require revision. This paper redescribes, from type material, several poorly known Ceratothoa species including Ceratothoa angulata, Ceratothoa capri, Ceratothoa carinata, Ceratothoa collaris, Ceratothoa gilberti, Ceratothoa gobii, Ceratothoa guttata, Ceratothoa italica, Ceratothoa oestroides, and Ceratothoa verrucosa, further resolving taxonomic uncertainties within the genus.
Highlights
There are 30 Ceratothoa species known worldwide (according to the World List of Marine, Freshwater and Terrestrial Isopod Crustaceans database (Bruce and Schotte 2016)
Isopods were processed according to the techniques described in Hadfield et al (2010, 2013)
Species descriptions were prepared in DELTA (Descriptive Language for Taxonomy, see Coleman et al 2010) using a general Cymothoidae character set
Summary
There are 30 Ceratothoa species known worldwide (according to the World List of Marine, Freshwater and Terrestrial Isopod Crustaceans database (Bruce and Schotte 2016). Recent descriptions incorporate comprehensive descriptions and figures essential for accurately identifying specimens to species level, often absent in many of the original descriptions (Martin et al 2013, 2015a, Hadfield et al 2014a, 2014b) These papers have added new species and made several taxonomic changes (bringing species in and out of synonymy) within this genus, but more work is still required for the remaining species. Several of these species are considered questionable or no longer valid due to the lack of type material or inadequate descriptions. These lesser known Ceratothoa species are revised and updated, separating valid from invalid information and determining their correct taxonomic status where possible
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