The discovery of Lepeophtheirus lichiae Barnard, 1948 (Copepoda: Caligidae) parasitic on leerfish, Lichia amia (Linnaeus) in the Mediterranean Sea

Syst Parasitol. 2019 Sep;96(7):603-616. doi: 10.1007/s11230-019-09874-8. Epub 2019 Aug 1.

Abstract

Lepeophtheirus lichiae Barnard, 1948 (Copepoda: Caligidae), a very rare and poorly known sea louse, is redescribed based on a single newly collected female. The specimen was collected from the dorsal body surface of the leerfish, Lichia amia (Linnaeus) caught in north-eastern Mediterranean waters off the Turkish coast. The original and only available description of L. lichiae was incomplete and with only three illustrations: the dorsal view of the female habitus, the sternal furca, and the postantennal process. Here, we present a full re-description of female of L. lichiae and report it from the Mediterranean Sea for the first time.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Copepoda / classification*
  • Copepoda / cytology
  • Copepoda / physiology*
  • Female
  • Mediterranean Sea
  • Perciformes / parasitology*
  • Species Specificity