B. A. Venmathi Maran

Developmental stages and growth of Pseudocaligus fugu Yamaguti, 1936 (Copepoda: Siphonostomatoida: Caligidae) host-specific to Puffer

The post-embryonic development of the copepod Pseudocaligus fugu is described. This sea louse only parasitizes toxic pufferfish, and causes commercial loss of cultured Takifugu rubripes in Japan. Two naupliar, one copepodid and four chalimus stages preceding the adult are recognized in the species. The development pattern is similar to that of Caligus except for the suppression of leg 4 in the early chalimus phase. Pseudocaligus fugu lacks any preadult stage, as in Caligus, but contrasts with Lepeophtheirus species in which two preadult stages are reported. The nature of the metamorphic changes in size and even in degree of expression of articulations can occur without moulting. The validity of some chalimus stages recognized in Lepeophtheirus species is questioned. Growth and egg production in P. fugu were obtained in the laboratory. Pseudocaligus fugu attained adulthood 9 days after the infective copepodid attached to the host.

In-situ Observations of Symbionts on Medusae Occurring in Japan, Thailand, Indonesia and Malaysia

During an ecological investigation on symbionts of medusae in Eastern and Southeastern Asian waters, seven species of hydro- and scypho-medusae were found to harbor a wide variety of invertebrates and fi shes: the isopod Idotea metallica and the nudibranch Fiona pinnata on the chondrophoran Vellela vellela; the actiniarian Peachia quinquecapitata on the leptomedusa Aequorea coerulescens; the butterfi sh Psenopsis anomala and the hyperiid amphipod Hyperia galba associated with the semaestome Chrysaora melanaster; H. galba on the semaestome Aurelia limbata; metacercariae of three species found in the mesogloea of a semaestome, Aurelia sp.; the ophiuroid Ophiocnemis marmorata, the caridean shrimp Latreutes spp., and the shrimp scad Alepes djedaba on the rhizostome Rhopilema hispidum; the swimming crab Charybdis feriata and A. djedaba on the rhizostome Versuriga anadyomene. Juveniles of benthic organisms such as crabs and ophiuroids seem to become hitchhikers for dispersal, while juvenile fi sh utilize medusae as refugia against predation. Since the previous and present studies have shown that edible rhizostomes are associated with many kinds of symbionts, fi sheries for these jellyfi shes possibly hinder the recruitment of symbionts such as decapods, ophiuroids and fi sh.

A revision of the family Dissonidae Kurtz, 1924 (Copepoda: Siphonostomatoida)

Two new species of the parasitic copepod genus Dissonus Wilson, 1906 are described: D. excavatus n. sp. from the gills of a labrid, Bodianus perditio, and a lutjanid, Macolor niger, collected off New Caledonia and Taiwan, and D. inaequalis n. sp. from a hemiscylliid elasmobranch, Chiloscyllium punctatum, collected off Sarawak (Malaysia) and the Philippines. Material of D. heronensis Kabata, 1966 is described from a balistid host, Pseudobalistes fuscus, off New Caledonia, and this constitutes a new host record for this parasite. D. manteri Kabata, 1966 was collected from four serranid host species off New Caledonia and from one of the same hosts off Taiwan. Two of the hosts from New Caledonia, Plectropomus laevis and Epinephelus cyanopodus, represent new host records. D. pastinum Deets & Dojiri, 1990 was recognised as a new synonym of D. nudiventris Kabata, 1966, so the total number of valid species is now twelve. Material from museum collections of D. nudiventris, D. similis Kabata, 1966 and D. spinifer Wilson, 1906 was re-examined and provided new information which is utilised in a key to all valid species of Dissonus.

Effects of feed restriction to enhance the profitable farming of blackhead seabream Acanthopagrus schlegelii schlegelii in sea cages

The feed intake, growth and body composition of juvenile blackhead seabream Acanthopagrus schlegelii schlegelii (Sparidae) (5.6 g fish−1) were investigated for 16 weeks in sea cages under seven repetitive feeding cycles: every day feeding (control), 6-day feeding and 1-day fasting (F6.1), 5-day feeding and 1-day fasting (F5.1), 4-day feeding and 1-day fasting (F4.1), 3-day feeding and 1-day fasting (F3.1), 2-day feeding and 1-day fasting (F2.1), and 1-day feeding and 1-day fasting (F1.1). The survival of the fish during the experimental period was not different among the feeding cycles. The greatest weight gain of fish was observed in the control, but not significantly different from that of the F6.1 and F5.1 groups (p > 0.05). Total feed intake and daily feed intake decreased with the increase of fasting frequency, however, actual feed intake, feed efficiency and protein efficiency ratio increased with the increase of the fasting frequency. Proximate composition of the whole body of fish was not affected by different feeding cycles. These results suggest that juvenile blackhead seabreams subjected to repetitive feeding cycles of 6- or 5-days feeding and 1 day fasting for 16 weeks could achieve compensatory growth, and that such mild feeding deprivation could save significant amounts of feed without causing any profit reduction that might result from a decrease in fish size or quality.

Seasonal Occurrence and Microhabitat of the Hyperparasitic Monogenean Udonella fugu on the Caligid Copepod Pseudocaligus fugu Infecting the Grass Puffer Takifugu niphobles in the Seto Inland Sea, Japan

The seasonal occurrence and microhabitat of the monogenean Udonella fugu that hyperparasitizes exclusively on adults of the caligid copepod Pseudocaligus fugu that infects the skin of the grass puffer Takifugu niphobles were investigated in the Seto Inland Sea, western Japan from November 2004 to December 2006. The udonellids occurred and bred mostly during the occurrence of P. fugu on the fish host. The average prevalence and intensity of U. fugu on P. fugu during the whole investigation were 29% and 3.6, respectively. The main attachment sites of U. fugu were the posterior side of leg 3 and the dorsal marginal side of the cephalothorax for feeding and copulation, while eggs were predominantly located on the ventral side of the urosome to avoid detachment. More attention should be paid to the ecology of U. fugu, due to recent high prevalence of P. fugu on cultured tiger puffer in western Japan.

The lunule of caligid copepods: an evolutionarily novel structure.

Nearly half of the genera of the family Caligidae possess an evolutionarily novel structure called the “lunule” on the ventral surface of the frontal plate. Lunules are paired cup‐like suckers that assist in securing attachment of the copepod parasite to its host. Although present in genera such as Caligus and Pseudocaligus, lunules are absent in other caligid genera such as Lepeophtheirus as well as in more primitive caligiforms such as members of the families Trebiidae and Dissonidae. We compared the morphology and development of the anterior margin of the frontal plates between two caligids, Pseudocaligus fugu and Lepeophtheirus sekii, and a more basal caligiform, Dissonus heronensis (a dissonid), using scanning electron, transmission electron, and laser confocal microscopes. Our observations suggest that the lunules originated as a modification of the marginal membranes of the ancestral frontal plates. We also demonstrated the presence of an anlagen cell population for the lunule and marginal membrane in the developing frontal plate. These primordial cells can be detected as early as the first stage of the chalimus phase. Based on these observations, an evolutionary scenario for the lunule is proposed based on cytological evidence. This case study enhances our understanding of “evolutionary novelty,” which is a main focus of contemporary evolutionary developmental biology.

A new species of Anuretes Heller, 1865 (Copepoda: Caligidae) from the yellowbanded sweetlips Plectorhinchus lineatus (Haemulidae) off New Caledonia

A new species of caligid copepod, Anuretes justinei n. sp., is described from off New Caledonia. It is parasitic on the gill filaments of a haemulid fish, the yellowbanded sweetlips Plectorhinchus lineatus (Linnaeus). The new species is distinguished from its congeners by the combination of the following character states: (1) the fourth pedigerous somite is covered dorsally by the expanded free posterior margin of the cephalothorax; (2) a maxillary whip is present; (3) the relatively small genital complex is less than half the length of the cephalothorax; (4) leg 3 is armed with nine setae on the terminal exopodal segment and six setae on the terminal endopodal segment; and (5) leg 4 is long and slender with a setal armature of I, III twisted spines. The new species is an addition to the possibly monophyletic group of seven species that is characterised by the possession of a maxillary whip, all of which are found on haemulid hosts. The host-specificity of Anuretes is relatively high, its species being largely parasitic on reef-associated fishes, such as the families Haemulidae (eight species), Ephippidae (four species), Acanthuridae (four species) and Pomacanthidae (one species).

Redescription of Lepeophtheirus acutus Heegaard, 1943 (Copepoda: Caligidae) parasitic on two elasmobranch hosts off Okinawa-jima Island, Japan

A redescription of the caligid copepod Lepeophtheirus acutus Heegaard, 1943 is provided based on mature adults of both sexes collected from two new elasmobranch hosts, the Alfred manta Manta alfredi (Krefft, 1868) and the whale shark Rhincodon typus Smith, 1828, held in sea pens off Okinawa-jima Island, Japan. Lepeophtheirus acutus can be distinguished from other congeners by a combination of adult female characters that includes: (1) abdomen about one-third length of cephalothorax; (2) sternal furca with long, apically pointed tines; (3) leg 2 endopod with a row of large denticles and a spiniform projection on the distolateral corner of the first and second segments, respectively; (4) leg 3 endopod with six setae on the distal segment; and (5) leg 4 exopod with an armature of I-0; III. This report also confirms the observation of previous workers that L. acutus is a pathogen of elasmobranchs held in captivity.

Redescription of Pseudacanthocanthopsis secunda (Yamaguti and Yamasu, 1960) (Copepoda: Chondracanthidae) parasitic on marine fishes from the Seto Inland Sea, Japan and the East China Sea off Japan and Korea

A redescription of the chondracanthid copepod Pseudacanthocanthopsis secunda (Yamaguti and Yamasu, 1960) is provided based on adult females collected from the Indian perch, Apogon lineatus Temminck and Schlegel, 1842, captured in the Seto Inland Sea, Japan, and the East China Sea off Japan and Korea, along with additional material from the fine-patterned puffer Takifugu poecilonotus (Temminck and Schlegel, 1850) and red seabream Pagrus major (Temminck and Schlegel, 1843) captured in the Seto Inland Sea. The male of P. secunda is also described for the first time. Our results revealed that P. secunda is a valid member of Pseudacanthocanthopsis, and it can be distinguished from the other three congeners by having one ventrolateral and two anterior pairs of rounded head processes, a reniform trunk, a double row of teeth along the concave margin of the mandible and a lateral swelling on the leg 1 protopod in the female. http://www.zoobank.org/urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:7AD5211F-66EF-464A-B9C9-E21C19ECFDC7