Nerocila benrosei n. sp. (Isopoda: Cymothoidae), an external parasite of hogfishes from the northern Bahamas.
Nerocila benrosei n. sp. is described from the hogfish, Lachnolaimus maximus (Walbaum), and the Spanish hogfish, Bodianus rufus (Linnaeus), (Perciformes: Labridae) from the northern Bahamas. Nerocila benrosei differs from all species of Nerocila by having the body of females 1.4-1.9 times as wide as long, instead of 2.0-3.0 times, and pleopods 1 and 2 lacking accessory lamellae. It differs from the only species of Nerocila with which it overlaps geographically, N. lanceolata (Say, 1818), by having the lateral margins of pleonites 1-5 strongly produced ventrally, coxae 5-7 manifestly shorter than the posterolateral projection of the respective pereonite, and a vaulted dorsal surface. The species of Nerocila in the northwestern Atlantic have almost mutually exclusive geographic ranges: New England to Panama, including Bermuda and the northern coast of Cuba (Nerocila lanceolata); Brazil to Trinidad and Tobago (Nerocila fluviatilis Schiödte and Meinert, 1881); and the northern Bahamas and Bermuda (Nerocila benrosei). No species of Nerocila have been reported from the insular Caribbean. Nerocila benrosei appears to be highly host and site specific.
Bunkley-Williams
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Caribbean Aquatic Animal Health Project, Department of Biology, University of Puerto Rico, Mayagüez.
Williams
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D000818:Animals; D001444:Bahamas; D003445:Crustacea / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000145:classification; D004478:Ectoparasitic Infestations / Q000469:parasitology / Q000662:veterinary*; D005260:Female; D005393:Fish Diseases / Q000469:parasitology*; D008297:Male; D010473:Perciformes / Q000469:parasitology*