Folia Parasitologica 55[3] 224-230 (2008) | DOI: 10.14411/fp.2008.030

A new species of Ergasilus (Copepoda: Cyclopoida: Ergasilidae) from coastal fishes of the Mexican Pacific

Eduardo Suárez-Morales1, Ana María Santana-Piñeros2
1 El Colegio de la Frontera Sur (ECOSUR), Chetumal, Quintana Roo 77900, Mexico
2 Universidad del Mar, Campus Puerto Angel, Oaxaca 70902, Mexico

A new species of the cyclopoid copepod genus Ergasilus von Nordmann, 1832 is described based on adult female specimens removed from the gills of the yellow snapper Lutjanus argentiventris (Peters) and the yellowfin snook Centropomus robalito Jordan et Gilbert from a Pacific coastal system of Mexico. The new species Ergasilus davidi sp. n. has a combination of characters that includes a two-segmented first leg endopod, a three-segmented fourth leg endopod, and the presence of a single seta on the first antennular segment. These characters are shared with 14 other congeners known mainly from Brazil and North America. It differs from these other species in the armature and ornamentation of legs 1 and 4, the shape of the body, and the structure and ornamentation of the antennae. Additional characters include a maxillar basis armed with blunt teeth, distally bent maxillular setae, and naked margins of first exopodal segments of legs 2-4. Previous regional records of Ergasilus sp. from both fish species are probably assignable to E. davidi. The prevalence and intensity of infection was estimated for both teleost species and agrees to previous data. Based on other records of the genus from several other teleost species in the surveyed area and adjacent zones of the Eastern Pacific, it is presumed that the new species could have a wider range of hosts. The new species represents the first Ergasilus described from Mexican waters of the Pacific. Overall, the genus remains poorly known in Central America and Mexico.

Keywords: Copepoda, Ergasilidae, Ergasilus davidi, copepod taxonomy, fish parasites, Tropical Pacific, Mexico, Chiapas

Received: March 4, 2008; Accepted: April 4, 2008; Published: September 1, 2008  Show citation

ACS AIP APA ASA Harvard Chicago IEEE ISO690 MLA NLM Turabian Vancouver
Suárez-Morales, E., & Santana-Piñeros, A.M. (2008). A new species of Ergasilus (Copepoda: Cyclopoida: Ergasilidae) from coastal fishes of the Mexican Pacific. Folia Parasitologica, 55(3), 224-230. doi: 10.14411/fp.2008.030
Share...
Download citation
  • BibTeX (.bib)
  • Bookends (.ris)
  • EasyBib (.ris)
  • EndNote (.enw)
  • EndNote 8 (.xml)
  • ISI WoS (.isi)
  • Medlars (.medlars)
  • Mendeley (.ris)
  • MODS (.xml)
  • Papers (.ris)
  • RefWorks (.txt)
  • RefManager (.ris)
  • RIS (.ris)
  • MS Word (.xml)
  • Zotero (.ris)
    • Open full article

    References

    1. ALVAREZ-SILVA C., MIRANDA-ARCE G., DELARA ISSASI G., GOMEZ-AGUIRRE S. 2006: Zooplancton de los sistemas estuarinos de Chantuto y Panzacola, Chiapas en epoca de secas y lluvias. Hidrobiologica 16: 175-182
    2. AMADO M.A.P., HO J.-S., ROCHA C.E. 1995: Phylogeny and biogeography of the Ergasilidae (Copepoda, Poecilostomatoida), with reconsideration of the taxonomic status of Vaigamidae. Contrib. Zool. 65: 233-243 Go to original source...
    3. AMADO M.A.P., ROCHA C.E. 2001: Useful characters in identifying copepods of the genus Ergasilus from plankton, with the description of male and female of E. sergipensis n. sp. Hydrobiologia 450: 149-157 Go to original source...
    4. BOXSHALL G.A., ARAUJO H.M.P., MONTU M. 2002: A new species of Ergasilus Nordmann, 1832 (Copepoda, Ergasilidae) from Brazil. Crustaceana 75: 269-276 Go to original source...
    5. BOXSHALL G.A., HALSEY S.H. 2004: An Introduction to Copepod Diversity. The Ray Society, London, 966 pp
    6. BOXSHALL G.A., MONTU M.A. 1997: Copepods parasitic on Brazilian coastal fishes: a handbook. Nauplius 5: 1-225
    7. BUSH G.A., LAFFERTY K.D., LOTZ J.M., SHOSTAK A.W. 1997: Parasitology meets ecology on its own terms: Margolis et al. revisited. J. Parasitol. 83: 575-583 Go to original source... Go to PubMed...
    8. EL-RASHIDY H.H., BOXSHALL G.A. 1999: Ergasilid copepods (Poecilostomatoida) from the gills of primitive Mugilidae (grey mullets). Syst. Parasitol. 42: 161-186 Go to original source... Go to PubMed...
    9. EL-RASHIDY H.H, BOXSHALL G.A. 2001: Biogeography and phylogeny of Paraergasilus Markevich, 1937 (Copepoda: Ergasilidae) with descriptions of two new species from the gills of grey mullet. J. Nat. Hist. 35: 1807-1819 Go to original source...
    10. EL-RASHIDY H.H., BOXSHALL G.A. 2002: New species and new records of Ergasilus Nordmann (Copepoda: Ergasilidae) from the gills of grey mullet (Mugilidae). Syst. Parasitol. 54: 37- 58 Go to original source... Go to PubMed...
    11. FAJER-AVILA E.J., GARCIA-VASQUEZ A., PLASCENSIA-GONZALEZ H., RIOS-SICAIROS J., GARCIA L.M., BETANCOURT M. 2006: Copepods and larvae of nematodes parasiting the white mullet Mugil curema (Valenciennes, 1836): indicators of anthropogenic impacts in tropical coastal lagoons? Environ. Monit. Assess. 122: 221-237 Go to original source... Go to PubMed...
    12. FITZSIMMONS K. 2000: Tilapia aquaculture in Mexico. In: B.A. Costa-Pierce and J.E. Rakocy (Eds.), Tilapia Aquaculture in the Americas, Vol. 2. The World Aquaculture Society, Baton Rouge, Louisiana, United States, pp. 171-183
    13. HEWITT G.C. 1978: Abergasilus amplexus gen. et sp. nov. (Ergasilidae; parasitic Copepoda) from fishes in Lake Ellesmere, New Zealand. N.Z. J. Mar. Freshwater Res. 12: 173-177 Go to original source...
    14. HO J.-S., JAYARAJAN P., RADHAKRISHNAN S. 1992: Copepods of the family Ergasilidae (Poecilostomatoida) parasitic on coastal fishes of Kerala, India. J. Nat. Hist. 26: 1227-1241 Go to original source...
    15. LIN C.-L., HO J.-S. 1998: Two species of ergasilid copepods parasitic on fishes cultured in brackish water in Taiwan. Proc. Biol. Soc. Wash. 11: 15-27
    16. MORAVEC F., SANTANA-PINEROS A.M., GONZALEZ-SOLIS D., TORRES-HUERTA A.M. 2007: A new species of Spirophilometra (Nematoda: Philometridae) from the yellowfin snook Centropomus robalito (Osteichthyes) in southern Mexico. Folia Parasitol. 54: 215-219 Go to original source... Go to PubMed...
    17. ROBERTS L.S. 1969: Ergasilus cerastes sp. n. (Copepoda: Cyclopoida) from North American catfishes. J. Parasitol. 55: 1266-1270 Go to original source... Go to PubMed...
    18. ROBERTS L.S. 1970: Ergasilus (Copepoda: Cyclopoida) - revision and key to species in North America. Trans. Am. Microsc. Soc. 89: 134-161 Go to original source...
    19. TAVARES L.E.R., LUQUE J.L. 2005: Ergasilus youngi sp. nov. (Copepoda, Poecilostomatoida, Ergasilidae) parasitic on Aspistor luniscutis (Actinopterygii, Ariidae) from off the State of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Acta Parasitol. 50: 150-155
    20. THATCHER V.E., BOEGER W.A. 1983: The parasitic crustaceans of fishes from the Brazilian Amazon. 4. Ergasilus colomesus n. sp. (Copepoda: Cyclopoida) from an ornamental fish Colomesus asellus (Tetraodontidae) and aspects of its pathogenicity. Trans. Am. Microsc. Soc. 102: 371-379 Go to original source... Go to PubMed...
    21. THATCHER V.E., BOEGER W.A. 1984: The parasitic crustaceans of fishes from the Brazilian Amazon. 9. Ergasilus callophysus sp. n. (Copepoda: Cyclopoida) from Callophysus macropterus. Proc. Helminthol. Soc. Wash. 51: 326-330
    22. VALLES-RIOS M.E., RUIZ-CAMPOS G., GALAVIZ L. 2000: Prevalencia e intensidad parasitaria en Mugil cephalus (Pisces: Mugilidae) del Rio Colorado, Baja California, Mexico. Rev. Biol. Trop. 48: 498-501
    23. VIOLANTE-GONZALEZ J., AGUIRRE-MACEDO M.L. 2007: Metazoan parasites of fishes from Coyuca Lagoon, Guerrero, Mexico. Zootaxa 1531: 39-48 Go to original source...
    24. VIOLANTE-GONZALEZ J., AGUIRRE-MACEDO M.L., MENDOZAFRANCO E. 2007: A checklist of metazoan parasites of fish from Tres Palos Lagoon, Mexico. Parasitol. Res. 102: 151- 161 Go to original source... Go to PubMed...

    Return to the content