Udonella myliobati n. comb. (Platyhelminthes: Udonellidae) and Its Occurrence in Eastern Australia

Abstract

A total of 2,571 of the copepod Caligus epidemicus Hewitt from the yellow-fin bream, Acanthopagrus australis Günther, was examined for udonellids. Calinella myliobati Guberlet, 1936 was found on 3.3% of male copepods and 10.1% of female copepods. A new combination, Udonella myliobati (Guberlet, 1936) is proposed and its description emended. It differs from the type species Udonella caligorum Johnston, 1835 (as described by Price [1938]) in having a short egg filament and a median genital aperture. Only 1 of 102 chalimus larvae was infected, by a single adult worm. Juvenile udonellids common on mature copepods, were not found on any of the chalimus larvae. The highest number of U. myliobati (Guberlet, 1936), including hatching and unhatched eggs on 1 copepod, was 159. Adult and juvenile worms were attached mainly along the margins of the carapace and to the genital complex, whereas the majority of the eggs were attached to the ventral surface of the genital complex. The transfer of an adult worm from a male copepod to a female copepod was observed while the copepods were copulating. The large number of udonellids on a small population of mostly female copepods from the Brisbane River suggested that this was an aging population of copepods compared to the copepods collected from a semi-enclosed pond.