Abstract
The Eastern Asian ectoparasitic copepod Neoergasilus japonicus (Harada, 1930) is a widely spread species with a high prevalence on many freshwater teleosts. It was recorded for the first time in Europe 45 years ago and continued its invasion to new geographic regions. Its presence in North America was first detected in 1993, followed by only two other continental records. In this work we present an illustrated record of N. japonicus from plankton samples collected during 1990 in a microreservoir of central Mexico. We confirm that this parasitic copepod was already present in continental America at least 3 years before previously known. This is the third published record of this Asian copepod in the Neotropical region. Its occurrence in Mexico is attributed to different events of introduction by human agency. This report supports the notion that N. japonicus is more widespread in Middle America than previously thought and it is intended to aid in the historical monitoring of the invasion of this species.
Highlights
Ergasilids are ectoparasitic copepods infecting different freshwater, estuarine, and coastal teleost families in both natural environments and in culture conditions (Nagasawa and Inoue 2012)
Among the 27 genera currently contained in the cyclopoid family Ergasilidae, the genus Neoergasilus is distinguished for a thumblike spine on the outer margin of the second exopodal segment of the first legs (Boxshall and Halsey 2004)
Neoergasilus japonicus (Harada, 1930) is a widespread species that has been recorded from numerous freshwater fish species mainly in eastern Asia, Europe, and North America (Hudson and Bowen 2002)
Summary
Ergasilids are ectoparasitic copepods infecting different freshwater, estuarine, and coastal teleost families in both natural environments and in culture conditions (Nagasawa and Inoue 2012). Neoergasilus japonicus (Harada, 1930) is a widespread species that has been recorded from numerous freshwater fish species mainly in eastern Asia, Europe, and North America (Hudson and Bowen 2002) The spread of this Asian species has been monitored since it was first recorded in Taiwan in the 1920s and was successively reported from other parts of the continent, including China and Russia. The available data suggest that it was first recorded in North America eight years later (1993), when it was found in Alabama, in the United States (Hayden and Rogers 1998) After this first record, it was observed in the Great Lakes area (Hudson and Bowen 2002; Kipp et al 2013). Prieto et al (1985) present survey Hayden and Rogers (1998) Suárez-Morales et al (2010)
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