The sea lice (Copepoda: Caligidae) of Moreton Bay (Queensland, Australia), with descriptions of thirteen new species
Author
Boxshall, Geoff
text
Zootaxa
2018
2018-03-19
4398
1
1
172
journal article
30482
10.11646/zootaxa.4398.1.1
e5a58990-d727-440a-aab9-7638a5698954
1175-5326
1202953
79E3EB78-D1C3-45CF-AB13-F8E61C936252
Caligus lagocephali
Pillai, 1961
(
Fig. 32
)
Syn.
Caligus fugu
Yamaguti & Yamasu, 1959
Material examined.
1♀ from
Lagocephalus lunaris
(Bloch & Schneider, 1801)
(TC17942)
6 July 2016
, QM Reg. No. W53075; 1♂ (TC 17892)
5 July 2016
, QM Reg. No. W53076; 1♂ (TC 17899)
5 July 2016
, NHMUK 2017.274; 1♀ (TC17944)
6 July 2016
, NHMUK 2017.275.
Site on host.
Unknown (in body wash).
Differential diagnosis.
Cephalothorax dorsoventrally flattened with well-developed marginal membranes along lateral zones of dorsal cephalothoracic shield; frontal plates with prominent lunules. Genital complex about 1.3 to 1.4 times longer than wide (
Fig. 32A
), with narrow anterior neck region; abdomen elongate, about 2.9 times longer than wide; genital complex about 1.3 times longer than abdomen. Antenna with tapering posterior process (
Fig. 32B
). Post-antennal process simple, tine slender, short and strongly recurved; associated papillae bisensillate. Anterior papilla of maxillule well developed with 1 large and 2 small setae; posterior process simple, tapering, without marginal flange (
Fig. 32B
). Maxilliped of female with robust proximal segment swollen proximally with transverse ridge and marginal fold in myxal area (
Fig. 32C
). Sternal furca with divergent tapering tines (
Fig. 30D
). Distal exopodal segment of leg 1 (
Fig. 32E
) lacking 3 plumose setae on posterior margin, only single naked vestigial seta present; distal margin spine 1 longer than other spines; spines 2 and 3 each with accessory process; seta 4 as along as spine 1 and ornamented with short pinnules bilaterally. Leg 2 with strong, distally tapering marginal spinules on endopodal segments 2 and 3 (as in
C. ariicolous
, cf.
Fig. 18G
); outer spines on exopodal segments 1 and 2 very slender, aligned obliquely across surface of ramus (
Fig. 32F
). Leg 3 with patch of tiny spinules located laterally on apron: first exopodal segment with short straight spine but lacking inner seta; second and third segments armed with
I-1
; III,4. Leg 4 uniramous, 3-segmented; first and second exopodal segments with I and IV spines, respectively (
Fig. 32G
). Body length of female
4.16 mm
; body length of
2 males
2.65 and
2.88 mm
.
Remarks.
The valid name of this species has recently changed. In their revision of the
Caligus productus
species group, Boxshall & El-Rashidy (2009) recognized the conspecific status of
C. fugu
Yamaguti & Yamasu, 1959
and
C. lagocephali
Pillai, 1961
, and treated the latter as a subjective synonym of the former. However, the subsequent recognition of the generic level synonymy of
Pseudocaligus
A. Scott, 1901
and
Caligus
by Dojiri & Ho (2013), resulted in the recognition of
Caligus fugu
(
Yamaguti, 1936
)
as a senior homonym. So,
Caligus fugu
Yamaguti & Yamasu, 1959
became a junior secondary homonym. According to
Özak
et al.
(2013)
the oldest available valid name for this taxon is
Caligus lagocephali
Pillai, 1961
.
The original description of
Caligus fugu
of
Yamaguti & Yamasu (1959)
revealed several distinctive characteristics: the tine of the post-antennal process is slender and set at a right angle to the base; the maxilliped has a robust proximal segment; leg 1 has unusually slender exopodal segments and the outer spines on the exopod of leg 2 are also unusually slender. The Moreton
Bay
material from
Lagocephalus lunaris
shares these features. There are
minor
differences such as the structure of the myxal surface of the female maxilliped which is shown as having a pointed process by
Yamaguti & Yamasu (1959: Fig. 141)
. However, this apparent process can be also interpreted as a ridge and marginal fold as figured for the Moreton
Bay
material (
Fig. 32C
). The minute vestige of a posterior margin seta on the distal exopodal segment of leg 1 was probably overlooked by
Yamaguti & Yamasu (1959)
. The synonymy proposed by Boxshall & El-Rashidy (2009) of
C. fugu
Yamaguti & Yamasu, 1959
and
C. lagocephali
Pillai, 1961
is maintained here, although this should be verified since the female figured by
Pillai (1961)
was somewhat damaged, as suggested by
Pillai (1985)
.
FIGURE 32.
Caligus lagocephali
Pillai, 1961
, female. A, habitus, dorsal; B, antenna, post-antennal process and maxillule drawn
in situ
; C, maxilliped; D, sternal furca; E, leg 1; F, outer margin spines on exopod of leg 2; G, leg 4. Scale bars: 1.0 mm on A, 100 µm on B–D, F, G, 200 µm on E.
The
type
host of
C. lagocephali
in Indian
waters is
Lagocephalus inermis
and the Japanese material described by
Yamaguti & Yamasu (1959)
was from
Takifugu rubripes
(Temminck & Schlegel, 1850)
,
T. alboplumbeus
(Richardson, 1845)
,
T. niphobles
(
Jordan
& Snyder, 1901) and
T. pardalis
(Temminck & Schlegel, 1850)
(as
Spheroides rubripes
,
S. alboplumbeus
,
S. niphobles
and
S. pardalis
, respectively). This species (as
C. fugu
Yamaguti & Yamasu, 1959
) has also recently been reported in Mediterranean waters, off the Turkish coast, on two
Red Sea
invasive hosts
Lagocephalus spadiceus
(Richardson, 1845)
and
L. suezensis
Clark & Gohar, 1953
(
Özak
et al.
, 2012
). The new material from Moreton
Bay
is from
L. lunaris
. It appears that this copepod utilises a range of tetraodontid fishes as hosts.