A new species of Colobomatus (Copepoda, Phylichthyidae) parasitic on Mullus argentinae (Perciformes, Mullidae) from South American Atlantic coast

Abstract

A new species of Colobomatus Hesse, 1873 is described from pores of the cephalic sensory system and nostrils of Argentine goatfish, Mullus argentinae Hubbs et Marini, 1933 (Perciformes: Mullidae), living along the southwestern Atlantic coast. The fish were collected at different latitudes, stretching from the State of Rio de Janeiro in the north, through Santa Catarina, Rio Grande do Sul (Brazil) to of Mar del Plata (Argentina) in the south. The prevalence of the infection ranged from 42% through 84%. The new species look alike to two other species, parasites of mullids (C. steenstrupi and C. mulli) particularly in the body shape and the number, shape, and ornamentation of cephalic, thoracic, and genital processes. The new species, however, can be readily distinguished by having the central cephalic process shorter than lateral ones, the later being bilobed at tip forked, and a relatively larger abdomen. Furthermore, C. steenstrupi possesses relatively wider trunk processes with rounded tips, a short abdominal dorsal process, and attains a larger size (up to 3.6 mm). C. mulli also differs by having all body processes with forked tips, and relatively shorter sixth thoracic somite and abdominal segments 1?3. This is the third record of a species of Colobomatus in South American Atlantic waters.