Abstract
Parasitic isopods of fishes usually show wide distribution and low host specificity. This study investigated the occurrence of gill parasites in 120 specimens of spotted goatfish Pseudupeneus maculatus, marine fish of great economic importance for fishery community. The fish were captured monthly in the Coast of Pernambuco State, Northeast Brazil, between October 2012 and September 2013. Eleven isopods were found and identified as Rocinela signata. We observed lower infections in the gills of P. maculatus (prevalence 8.3%, mean intensity 1.6±0.3 and mean abundance 0.1±0.3) when compared to other studies of different host fishes from geographically close locations. This parasite has been reported from a wide variety of fish species, not only in Brazil, but also in the eastern Atlantic and the Pacific oceans. This is the first report of R. signata in spotted goatfish.
Highlights
Isopods are crustaceans that present a great variety of shapes and sizes, occurring in different habitats, from the bottom of the ocean to mountain regions (Wilson 2008); their marine representatives are important constituents of the invertebrate fauna of this ecosystem, especially considering their different roles in the marine foodchain (RisemanThe family Aegidae comprises five genera and approximately 107 described species; the genusAn Acad Bras Cienc (2017) 89 (3 Suppl.)Rocinela Leach, 1818 in this family is cosmopolitan and includes described 40 species (Brusca 1983)
The species has a wide distribution on the West Atlantic Ocean, from Florida to Southern Brazil, and most of the records are from coastal regions (Brusca and France 1992)
R. signata is mostly found in the oral cavity, gills and tegument of several species, including some economically important hosts (Garzón-Ferreira 1990, Bunkley-Williams et al 2006)
Summary
Rocinela Leach, 1818 in this family is cosmopolitan and includes described 40 species (Brusca 1983). The species has a wide distribution on the West Atlantic Ocean, from Florida to Southern Brazil, and most of the records are from coastal regions (Brusca and France 1992). This species differs from its congeners by presenting the image of a pigmented and inverted “W” on its pleotelson, an important characteristic considered for its identification (Moreira 1977). R. signata is mostly found in the oral cavity, gills and tegument of several species, including some economically important hosts (Garzón-Ferreira 1990, Bunkley-Williams et al 2006). In addition to the damages to the host fitness and health, the parasite affects the appearance of the fish and their commercial value (Ravichandran et al 2010)
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