Keywords
Venezuela
new species
new host
new locality records
isópodos parásitos de peces
Venezuela
nuevas especies
nuevos hospederos
nuevos registros de localidad
How to Cite
Abstract
The parasitic isopod fauna of fishes in the southern Caribbean is poorly known. In examinations of 12 639 specimens of 187 species of Venezuelan fishes, the authors found 10 species in three families of isopods (Gnathiids, Gnathia spp. from Diplectrum radiale*, Heteropriacanthus cruentatus*, Orthopristis ruber* and Trachinotus carolinus*; two aegids, Rocinela signata from Dasyatis guttata*, H. cruentatus*, Haemulon aurolineatum*, H. steindachneri* and O. ruber; and Rocinela sp. from Epinephelus flavolimbatus*; five cymothoids: Anilocra haemuli from Haemulon boschmae*, H. flavolineatum* and H. steindachneri*; Anilocra cf haemuli from Heteropriacanthus cruentatus*; Haemulon bonariense*, O. ruber*, Cymothoa excisa in H. cruentatus*; Cymothoa oestrum in Chloroscombrus chrysurus, H. cruentatus* and Priacanthus arenatus; Cymothoa sp. in O. ruber; Livoneca sp. from H. cruentatus*; and Nerocila fluviatilis from H. cruentatus* and P. arenatus*). The Rocinela sp. and A. cf haemuli in the southern Caribbean could represent new species. The abundance of A. cf haemuli appears to have drastically reduced from 1994 to 1999 in the Gulf of Cariaco. The Cymothoa sp. represents an undescribed species that is apparently host specific to O. ruber. It does not occur in the Gulf of Cariaco, but is relatively abundant on the Caribbean coast of Sucre State, Venezuela. The Livoneca sp. is an undescribed species host specific to Diapterus rhombeus, Cymothoa excisa and C. oestrum were thought to have distinct host preferences, but both infected the Heteropriacanthus cruentatus in the present study. Gnathia spp. are reported from Venezuelan waters for the first time. Twenty new host records* are noted. The fish-associated isopod fauna is much more extensive and important than has previously been suspected. Rev. Biol. Trop. 54 (Suppl. 3): 175-188. Epub 2007 Jan. 15.References
Anonymous. 2000. Proceedings of the 29th Scientific Meeting, Association of Marine Laboratories of the Caribbean, Cumaná, Venezuela. Rev. Biol. Trop. 48(Suppl. 1): 1-279.
Bashirullah, A.K.M. 1991. Occurrence and site specificity of an isopod Anilocra laticauda H. Milne Edwards, 1840 (Isopoda, Cymothoidae) parasitic on the grunt, Orthopristis ruber (Cuvier) in eastern Venezuela. Crustaceana 61: 38-42.
Bowman, T.E. & C. Diaz-Ungria. 1957. Isopodos quimotoideos parasitos de peces de las aguas Venezolanas. Mem. Soc. Cienc. Nat. “La Salle” 17: 112-124.
Bunkley-Williams, L. & E.H. Williams, Jr. 1998. Isopods associated with fishes: A synopsis and corrections. J. Parasit. 84: 893-896.
Bunkley-Williams, L. & E.H. Williams, Jr. 1999. Nerocila benrosei n. sp. (Isopoda: Cymothoidae) an external parasite of hogfishes from the northern Bahamas. J. Parasit. 85: 1036-1040.
Bunkley-Williams, L. & E.H. Williams, Jr. 2003. The identity of the seldom found Caribbean and Gulf of Mexico fish-parasitic isopod, Cymothoa caraibica Bovallius, resolved: A neoteric synonym of C. oestrum (L.). Caribbean J. Sci. 39: 245-248. (Also available on line: http://caribjsci.org/aug03/39_245_248.pdf).
Bunkley-Williams, L., E.H. Williams, Jr., & A.K.M. Bashirulla. 1998. Some isopods associated with Venezuelan fishes. Carib. Mar. Stud. 6: 27-30.
Bunkley-Williams, L., E.H. Williams, Jr. & J. Garzon- Ferreira. 1999. Some isopod and copepod parasites (Crustacea) of Colombian marine fishes. Carib. J. Sci. 35: 311-314.
Cervigón, F., R. Ciprani, W. Fischer, L. Garibaldi, M. Hendrickx, A.J. Lemus, R. Márquez, J.M. Poutiers, G. Robaina & B. Rodríguez. 1993. Field guide to the commercial marine and brackish-water resources of the northern coast of South America. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, Rome, Italy. 513 p.
Delaney, P.M. 1989. Phylogeny and biogeography of the marine isopod family Corallanidae (Crustacea, Isopoda, Flabellifera). Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County, Contributions in Science 409: 1-75.
Erdman, D.S. 1963. Discontinuity in marine fish distribution in the Caribbean. Carib. Agricult. 1: 127-131.
Garzon-Ferreira, J. 1990. An isopod, Rocinela signata (Crustacea: Isopoda: Aegidae), that attacks humans. Bull. Mar. Sci. 46: 813-815.
Kensley, B. & M. Schotte. 1989. Marine isopod crustaceans of the Caribbean. Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington, D.C. 308 p.
Kimmel, J.J. & D.W. Arneson. 1978. The response of two species of jacks, C. latus and C. hippos to the isopod ectoparasite, Cymothoa oestrum. Proc. Assoc. Isl. Mar. Labs. Carib. 14: 27 (abstract).
Müller, H.-G. 1988. The genus Gnathia Leach (Isopoda) from Santa Marta area, northern Colombia, with a review of Gnathiidea from the Caribbean Sea and Gulf of Mexico. Bijdragen Tot de Dierkunde 58: 88-104.
Robins, C.R. 1971. Distribution patterns of fishes from coastal and shelf waters of the tropical western Atlantic. Symposium on Investigations and Resources of the Caribbean Sea and Adjacent Regions. Papers on Fisheries Resources, FAO United Nations, Rome, Italy. Pp. 249-255.
Thatcher, V.E., J. de Loyola e Silva, G.F. Jost & J.M. Souza-Conceiçã. 2003. Comparative morphology of Cymothoa spp. (Isopoda, Cymothoidae) from Brazilian fishes, with the description of Cymothoa catarinensis sp. nov. and redescriptions of C. excisa Perty and C. oestrum (Linnaeus). Rev. Bras. Zool. 20: 541-552.
Weinstein, M.P. & K.L. Heck. 1977. Biology and hostparasite relationships of Cymothoa excisa (Isopoda, Cymothoidae) with three species of snappers (Lutjanidae) on the Caribbean coast of Panama. Fish. Bull. 75: 875-877.
Williams, E.H., Jr. & L. Bunkley-Williams. 1994. Four cases of unusual crustacean-fish associations and comments on parasitic processes. J. Aquatic Animal Health 6: 202-208.
Williams, E.H., Jr. & L. Bunkley-Williams. 1996. Parasites of off shore, big game sport fishes of Puerto Rico and the Western North Atlantic. Puerto Rico Department of Natural and Environmental Resources, San Juan, Puerto Rico, and Department of Biology, University of Puerto Rico, Mayagüez, Puerto Rico. 384 p.
Williams, E.H., Jr., L. Bunkley-Williams & C.J. Sanner. 1994. New host and locality records for copepod and isopod parasites of Colombian marine fishes. J. Aquatic Animal Health 6: 362-364.
Williams, E.H., Jr. & L.B. Williams. 1985. Cuna insularis n. gen. and n. sp. (Isopoda: Cymothoidae) from the gill chamber of the sergeant major, Abedufduf saxatilis (Linnaeus), (Osteichthyes) in the West Indies. J. Parasit. 71: 209-214.
Williams, L.B. & E.H. Williams, Jr. 1981. Nine new species of Anilocra (Crustacea: Isopoda: Cymothoidae) external parasites of West Indian coral reef fishes. Proc. Biol. Soc. Wash. 94: 1005-1047.
Comments
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Copyright (c) 2006 Revista de Biología Tropical