Nippoparasitus unoashicola, a new genus and species of philoblennid copepod (Cyclopoida) parasitic on the Pacific sugar limpet, Patelloida saccharina (Linnaeus, 1758) (Patellogastropoda: Lottiidae) from the intertidal zone of eastern Japan.
Nippoparasitus unoashicola, a new genus and species of mesoparasitic copepod, is described based on specimens of both sexes collected from the mantle cavity of the Pacific sugar limpet, Patelloida saccharina (Linnaeus, 1758) (Patellogastropoda: Lottiidae), in the intertidal zone of the Uraga Channel (North Pacific Ocean), Japan. Nippoparasitus gen. nov. differs from other philoblennid genera by two unique characters: the labium is bloated and branched into multiple digitate lobes in female, and the antenna has three claw-like spines on the terminal segment. Nippoparasitus is probably closely related to Myzotheridion Laubier & Bouchet, 1976 with which it shares a series of processes on the terminal segment of the maxilla.
Florida Museum of Natural History, University of Florida, 1659 Museum Rd., Gainesville, FL 32611, U.S.A. Current affiliation: Graduate School of Science and Engineering, Kagoshima University, 1-21-35 Korimoto, Kagoshima 890-0065, Japan.; Email: duyeno@kagoshima-u.ac.jp.
Daisuke
D
Uyeno
Yokohama Hakkeijima Sea Paradise, Hakkeijima, Kanazawa, Yokohama, Kanagawa 236-0006, Japan.; Email: r.ogasaka@seaparadise.co.jp.
Rie
R
Ogasaka
Graduate School of Biosphere Science, Hiroshima University, 1-4-4 Kagamiyama, Higashi-Hiroshima, Hiroshima 739-8528, Japan.; Email: ornatus@hiroshima-u.ac.jp.
Kazuya
K
Nagasawa
D000818:Animals; D033342:Copepoda / Q000033:anatomy & histology* / Q000145:classification* / Q000502:physiology; D005260:Female; D049851:Gastropoda / Q000469:parasitology* / Q000502:physiology; D007564:Japan; D008297:Male