Family Chondracanthidae Research Articles

Two New Genera and Species of the Parasitic Copepod Family Chondracanthidae Milne Edwards, 1840 (Copepoda: Cyclopoida) from Deep-Sea Fishes Off Suruga Bay, Japan

PurposeThe present paper describes two new genera and species of the parasitic copepod family Chondracanthidae Milne Edwards, 1840 based on specimens collected from two species of deep-sea fishes at a depth of 212 m off Suruga Bay, Japan. Avatar nishidaigen. et sp. nov. is described from the host fish Chaunax abei Le Danois, 1978 (Chaunacidae). Kokeshioides surugaensisgen. et sp. nov. is described from the host fish Setarches longimanus (Alcock, 1894) (Setarchidae).MethodsFresh specimens of chondracanthids were collected from the buccal cavity of two species of deep-sea fishes (fish hosts were frozen), Chaunax abei Le Danois, 1978 (Lophiiformes: Chaunacidae) and Setarches longimanus (Alcock, 1894) (Perciformes: Setarchidae), caught at a depth of 212 m in Suruga Bay, Japan (34° 37′48.87″ N, 138° 43′2.958″ E). Both the species are described and illustrated based on ovigerous females.ResultsThe genus Avatargen. nov. can readily be distinguished from all other chondracanthid genera by the following combination of features: cephalothorax slightly wider than long with anterior pair of large and posterior pair of small lateral lobes, and two pairs of ventro-lateral processes; the very posteriormost part of the first pedigerous somite contributes to the neck; cylindrical trunk with two pairs of blunt proximal fusiform processes; antennule with small knob terminally; antenna bearing distal endopodal segment; labrum protruding ventrally; two pairs of biramous legs each with 2-segmented rami. Kokeshioidesgen. nov. has the following combinations of features that distinguish it from other chondracanthid genera: body flattened, without lateral processes; cephalothorax much wider than long, with paired anterolateral and posterolateral lobes, folded ventrally; the very posteriormost part of the first pedigerous somite contributes to the neck; mandible elongate; legs unique, heavily sclerotized, represented by two pairs of acutely pointed processes.ConclusionWith the addition of two new genera presently reported, the family Chondracanthidae currently includes 52 valid genera. Among the described genera Avatargen. nov. seems to be very primitive, while Kokeshioidesgen. nov. is highly advanced. The deduced evolutionary history of chondracanthid genera is also discussed.

What causes transformation of the parasitic copepod? A new example of host switching in the family Anthessiidae (Cyclopoida) from Singaporean waters, with the proposal of a new genus

Abstract Merlionia zeeae , a new species belonging to a new genus, is described as a member of the cyclopoid family Anthessiidae (Copepoda), based on both sexes collected off the coast of Singapore. The new species was found in the gill cavities of the longnosed stargazer, Ichthyscopus lebeck (Actinopteri: Perciformes: Uranoscopidae), although almost all members of the family are associated with molluscan hosts. However, this copepod is not similar to other genera of the family Anthessiidae due to possessing the following characters: the curved hook-like antenna, which is similar to that of the family Chondracanthidae in both sexes; the distal portion of the maxilla covered with numerous spinules; and the lack of the maxilliped in the female. Both maximum likelihood and Bayesian inferences using partial SSU (18S) ribosomal RNA genes strongly supported a monophyletic clade formed by the new genus, and three anthessiid genera in this study. However, it was not supported that Anthessiidae and Chondracanthidae are closely related. Therefore, the new genus is considered to be a highly transformed member of the former, and the chondracanthid-form antenna might therefore be a product of convergent evolution attributable to the host-switching event from molluscs to fishes.

A new parasitic copepod (Copepoda; Cyclopoida; Chondracanthidae) from two pomacentrid fishes caught on the Great Barrier Reef, Queensland, Australia

A new species of the copepod genus Pseudacanthocanthopsis Yamaguti & Yamasu, 1959 (family Chondracanthidae) is described based on material of both sexes collected from two pomacentrid host fishes caught off Lizard Island, Queensland. The type host is Neopomacentrus azysron (Bleeker) and the additional host is N. cyanomos (Bleeker). The new species is distinguishable from all congeners by the form of the antennule of the female, which is dorso-ventrally flattened and extends out anteriorly to the front of the cephalothorax margin.

New species of Acanthochondria Oakley, 1930 and Chondracanthus Delaroche, 1811 (Copepoda: Cyclopoida: Chondracanthidae) parasitizing marine fishes from Indian waters

Abstract This paper describes two new species of parasitic copepods of the family Chondracanthidae H. Milne Edwards, 1840. Acanthochondria krishnai sp. n. is described from Dollfus' stargrazer, Uranoscopus guttatus Cuvier, collected from Muttom and Colachel, Tamil Nadu, and Chondracanthus kabatai sp. n. from Silvery john dory, Zenopsis conchifer Lowe, collected from Neendakara, Quilon, Kerala, both along the southwest coast of India. Both the species are described and illustrated based on the fresh female and male specimens collected from India. Both the species are the first Indian representative of the respective genera. The checklist of Indian species of the family Chondracanthidae is also presented.

A New Species of Lagochondria (Crustacea: Copepoda) Parasitic on Callionymid Fish: First Record of Precopulatory Mate Guarding in Fish-Parasitic Cyclopoid Copepods, and of the Occurrence of the Genus in the North Pacific.

A new species of the genus Lagochondria of the parasitic cyclopoid family Chondracanthidae is described from the gill cavity of the callionymid Repomucenus virgis (Jordan and Fowler, 1903) collected from off Kii Peninsula, Japan. This is the first record of the occurrence of the genus from the North Pacific, and is only the second species in the genus. The female of the new species is easily distinguished from that of the Australian type species L. nana Ho and Dojiri, 1988 by having a squared trunk lacking paired posterior processes, and by the very short neck. In the male, the new species can be differentiated from the type species by having three inner setae on the caudal ramus, and by the distal segment of the antennule having a setal formula of 4, 3, 7+ ae. An adult female was accompanied by an attached adult male, whereas fourth and fifth copepodid females each carried a fifth and a fourth attached copepodid male, respectively. This is the first record of precopulatory mate guarding in a cyclopoid family parasitic on fish hosts, and of mate guarding between late copepodids of both sexes. The zoogeography of the genus and its relatives with an atrophied tip on the antenna is also discussed.

<p class="SP233508"><strong>Ttetaloia hoshinoi, a new genus and species of chondracanthid copepod (Poecilostomatoida) parasitic on triplefins (Actinopterygii: Tripterygiidae) from Japanese waters</strong></p>

A new genus and species of copepod, Ttetaloia hoshinoi, of the poecilostomatoid family Chondracanthidae is described based on specimens removed from the body surface of three species of triplefins (Perciformes: Tripterygiidae), Enneapterygius etheostomus (Jordan & Snyder) (type host), E. miyakensis Fricke, and Springerichthys bapturus (Jordan & Snyder), collected in the coastal waters of Izu-Oshima Island and the Izu Peninsula, the North Pacific Ocean, Japan. The new genus resembles Diocus by sharing some important characters in the female, such as a squat trunk bearing well-developed posterolateral processes, a pair of minute caudal rami situated on the midventral surface of the genito-abdomen, and unmodified and biramous legs 1 and 2. The male of the new genus also shares distinct body somites, an atrophied tip on the antenna, and three pairs of legs with the males of Diocus. However, it is clearly differentiated from Diocus by the combination of the following characters: the female has a body comprised of a head and trunk, a head composed of the cephalosome fused with the first and second pedigers and bearing two pairs of cephalothoracic processes on the ventrolateral surface, an unsegmented, asetose antennule, and an accessory process on the terminal uncinate segment of the antenna; and the male has the cephalosome distinctly separated from the first pediger and legs 1 to 3 are all highly vestigial, with the first two pairs consisting of setose knobs and the third pair represented by a minute conical process.

Catalogue of genera and species of the family Chondracanthidae Milne Edwards, 1840 (Copepoda: Poecilostomatoida) with notes on morphology.

The status of subfamilies and genera within Chondracanthidae Milne Edwards, 1840 has recently been revised. Forty four genera are currently recognised as valid for the Chondracanthidae and a comprehensive catalogue to the valid genera and species of the family is presented here. In addition, numerous supplementary observations are presented on existing taxa for which incomplete or inadequate data were previously available.

Copepoda parasitic on Australian fishes, XIV. An assemblage of bathypelagic species

A collection of copepods parasitic on fishes taken mainly off the coast of New South Wales, Australia, at depths 274–1 150 m, is described and illustrated. It comprises 23 species, of which only 19 can be identified and described in any detail. Seven species belong to the family Chondracanthidae, one to Caligidae, 10 to Lernaeopodidae and one to Naobranchiidae. Five of these species (Acanthochondria incisa, Chondracanthus genypteri, Ch. neali, Ch. polymixiae and Clavella ovata) have been found in Australian waters for the first time. The remaining comprise two new genera (Rohdea and Cryptova) and 12 new species (Rohdea cryptopoda, Lateracanthus novus, Caligus cresseyorum, Cryptova limbifera, Clavella tumidula, C. deminuta, Anaclavella (?) filifera, Neobrachiella brevibrachiata, N. microdigitata, N. chlorophthalmi, N. mirifica and Naobranchia alta). The exact generic affiliation of A. (?) filifera is impossible, because the male of its only other hitherto known species, A. sillaginoides, has not been found. Inadequate material allows one species of Clavella to be identified only as Clavella sp. One sample contains only one specimen and can be identified only to the familial level. It is possible that it belongs to the genus Immanthe.

A new family of parasitic copepods, the Lernaeosoleidae (Poecilostomatoida), from demersal fishes in the Northwest Atlantic, with a description of Bobkabata kabatabobbus n.gen., n.sp. and a redescription of Lernaeosolea lycodis Wilson, 1944

Bobkabata kabatabobbus n.gen., n. sp., collected from the flesh of Cottunculus thomsoni (Günther, 1882) from the Northwest Atlantic, is described. A species of similiar general habitus, Lernaeosolea lycodis Wilson, 1944, is redescribed from the holotype specimen. Bobkabata kabatabobbus n.gen., n.sp. and L. lycodis are placed in a new family, Lernaeosoleidae, based on the structure of the trunk and second antenna. The Lernaeosoleidae n.fam. appears most closely related to the poecilostomatoid family Chondracanthidae H. Milne Edwards, 1840.

Copepods of the Family Chondracanthidae Parasitic on Australian Marine Fishes

Three species of chondracanthid copepods are described from Australian marine fishes. They are Acanthochondria diastema Kabata, 1965 from Platycephalus sp.; Lagochondria nana gen. & sp. nov. from Callionymus sp.; and Apodochondria medusae gen. & sp. nov. from Neosebastes pandus. The first and last species were found in the collection of the South Australian Museum and the second species was collected from the Arafura Sea.

Copepods of the family Chondracanthidae (Cyclopoida) parasitic on South African marine fishes.

Six species of South African parasitic copepods belonging to the family Chondracanthidae were restudied. A redescription was given of Acanthochondria lepidionis, Ghondracanthus colligens and Ch. neali. Ch. lophii reported by Barnard (1955a) is actually a new species; it was named Ch. barnardi and redescribed. Ch. congiopodi Barnard, 1955, is conspecific with Ch. tuberculatus Nordmann, 1832. A redescription of this species was given based on Barnard's collection. Ch. merluccii was only mentioned and not redescribed.

Parasitic copepods of the family Chondracanthidae from fishes of Eastern North America

Parasitic copepods of the family Chondracanthidae from fishes of Eastern North America

Three Copepods (Crustacea) Parasitic on Fishes of the Genus Lepidion Swainson, 1838 (Pisces: Teleostei)

Three copepod species parasitic on fishes of the genus Lepidion are described. Two of them belong to the family Chondracanthidae. One of these (Brachiochondrites longicollis) is known, though inadequately, from a previous description. The other is a new species, Chondracanthus lepi- dionis. The third species is a member of Lernaeopodidae, genus Clavella. Although it does not belong to any known species, insufficient material prevents its establishment as a new taxon.

Copepoda parasitic on Australian fishes IX. Family Chondracanthidae

Summary Two members of the family Chondracanthidae (Copepoda) are described from Australian fishes. One of them (Pseudoblias lyrifera) has been described briefly by Heegaard (1962), the other (Neobrachiochondria quadrata) is new to science and is considered to be the type species of a new genus. The morphological characteristics of both species are discussed and illustrated.

A New Cyclopoid Copepod (Chondracanthidae) Parasitic on the Armored Sea Robin from the Florida Straits

Rhynchochondria longa gen. et sp. n. was found parasitic on the wall of the branchial chamber of the armored sea robin, Peristedion platycephalum (Goode and Bean), taken from the Florida Straits at a depth of 366 to 450 m. The new copepod differs from the known genera in the family Chondracanthidae in the female having a large, snoutlike rostrum and a trilobed swelling with a long middle process on the sternal area behind leg 1, and in both male and female having three pairs of biramous legs. The copepod is remarkable in having more than one dwarf male attached to the female. In the winter of 1965, while the author was making a general collection of parasitic copepods of marine fishes on board the R/V Oregon during Cruise 105, 12 female copepods were recovered from the branchial cavities of 12 armored sea robins, Peristedion platycephalum (Goode and Bean), caught with a 60-ft trawl net in the Florida Straits. Subsequent study of these copepods revealed that they represent a new genus and species of the family Chondlracanthidae. Two females and three males were dissected and examined in lactic acid, and the figures were drawn with the aid of a camera lucida. All measurements are in millimeters unless otherwise indicated. Genus Rhynchochondria gen. n. Female: Cephalosome fused with first pedigerous segment and separated from rest of body by a distinct neck. Rostrum snoutlike; another long process located immediately behind leg 1 on ventral surface of head. Second, third, and fourth pedigerous segments fused into a square trunk, bearing small, fused genital segment and abdomen at posterior end. Caudal ramus present. First antenna indistinctly 6-segmented; second antenna uncinate, with accessory antennule. Mandible falcate and denticulated; paragnath present; first maxilla a knob bearing four elements; second maxilla 2-segmented, terminal segment armed with strong teeth. Maxilliped 3-segmented, terminal segment unguiform. Legs 1 to 3 biramous, remi 2-segmented. Leg 4 absent. Legs 5 and 6 present. Male: Dwarf, attached to female by means of second antennae. Metamerism of body distinct, with single postgenital segment. Caudal ramus and cephalic appendages as in female. First three pairs of legs biramous, rami 2-segmented, except Received for publication 3 August 1966. * This study was done in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy at Boston University. 406 third endopod, where it is 1-segmented. Leg 4 absent. Legs 5 and 6 present. Type-species: Rhynchochondria longa sp. n. (Rhynchos = snout, chondria cartilage; longa -= long, alluding to the long sternal process and terminal seta on caudal ramus). Gender: Feminine. Rhynchochondria longa sp. n.