Abstract
The siphonostomatoid copepod Prosaetes rhinodontis (Wright, 1876) is redescribed in detail based on adult female specimens recently collected from the sieve-like gill rakers of a whale shark, Rhincodon typus Smith, held in captivity off the coast of Motobu-cho, Okinawa-jima Island, Japan. Comparisons with other caligiform copepod species previously identified as Dysgamus atlanticus Steenstrup & Lütken, 1861 and described as Echthrogaleus pectinatus Kirtisinghe, 1964 from a whale shark revealed that these two taxa are conspecific with P. rhinodontis. The latter is transferred herein from the Pandaridae to the Cecropidae based on the relatively slim shape of its maxilliped corpus, and an amended diagnosis of Prosaetes C. B. Wilson, 1907 is provided. Neotype material of P. rhinodontis was selected from a previous collection of 173 specimens removed from a whale shark caught alive off the coast of Yonabaru-cho, Okinawa-jima Island, Japan, and subsequently held in captivity, albeit briefly, in the Okinawa Churaumi Aquarium, Motobu-cho, Okinawa-jima Island, Japan. Asymmetrical clusters of P. rhinodontis females on the host’s gill rakers were observed in this study, which suggest that this aggregative behavior most likely does not facilitate their attachment to the host but rather is a strategy used to augment their reproductive fitness. We also postulate that P. rhinodontis grazes on the epithelium of the host’s gill rakers and is, in contrast to other cecropids, a relatively vagile species.References
Benz, G.W. (1981) Observations on the attachment scheme of the parasitic copepod Pandarus satyrus (Copepoda: Pandaridae). Journal of Parasitology, 67, 966–967.
Benz, G.W. & Deets, G.B. (1988) Fifty-one years later: an update on Entepherus, with a phylogenetic analysis of Cecropidae Dana, 1849 (Copepoda: Siphonostomatoida). Canadian Journal of Zoology, 66, 856–865.
Boxshall, G.A. (2005) Crustacean parasites. Copepoda. In: Rohde, K. (Ed.), Marine Parasitology. CSIRO Publishing, Collingwood, pp. 123–138.
Boxshall, G.A. & Halsey, S.H. (2004) An Introduction to Copepod Diversity. The Ray Society, London, 966 pp.
Clark, E. & Nelson, D.R. (1997) Young whale sharks, Rhincodon typus, feeding on a copepod bloom near La Paz, Mexico. Environmental Biology of Fishes, 50, 63–73.
Colman, J.G. (1997) A review of the biology and ecology of the whale shark. Journal of Fish Biology, 51, 1219–1234.
Compagno, L.J.V. (2001) Sharks of the world. An annotated and illustrated catalogue of shark species known to date. Volume 2. Bullhead, mackerel and carpet sharks (Heterodontiformes, Lamniformes and Orectolobiformes). FAO Species Catalogue for Fishery Purposes, FAO, Rome, 269 pp.
Cressey, R.F. (1967) Revision of the family Pandaridae (Copepoda: Caligoida). Proceedings of the United States National Museum, 121, 1–133.
Dojiri, M. & Cressey, R.F. (1987) Revision of the Taeniacanthidae (Copepoda: Poecilostomatoida) parasitic on fishes and sea urchins. Smithsonian Contributions to Zoology, 447, 1–250.
Eckert, K.L. & Eckert, S.A. (1987) Growth rate and reproductive condition of the barnacle Conchoderma virgatum on gravid leatherback sea turtles in Caribbean waters. Journal of Crustacean Biology, 7, 682‒690.
Froese, R. & Pauly, D. (2010) FishBase. World Wide Web electronic publication. Available from http://www.fishbase.org/ (accessed 23 February 2010)
Grabda, J. (1973) Contribution to knowledge of biology of Cecrops latreillii Leach, 1816 (Caligoida: Cecropidae) the parasite of the ocean sunfish Mola mola (L.). Acta Ichthyologica et Piscatoria, 3, 61–74.
Gudger, E.W. (1941) The feeding organs of the whale shark, Rhineodon typus. Journal of Morphology, 68, 81–99.
Heegaard, P. (1972) Caliginae and Euryphorinae of the Dana expedition (Crustacea: Copepoda: Caligidae). Steenstrupia, 2, 295–317.
Heller, C. (1865) Crustacean. Reise der Oesterreichischen Fregatte Novara um die Erde in den Jahren 1857, 1858, 1859. Zoologischer Theil, 2, 1–280, pls. 1–25.
Ho, J.S. & Lin, C.L. (2004) Sea lice of Taiwan. The Sueichan Press, Keelung, 388 pp.
Humes, A.G. & Gooding, R.U. (1964) A method for studying the external anatomy of copepods. Crustaceana, 6, 238–240.
Huys, R. & Boxshall, G.A. (1991) Copepod Evolution. The Ray Society, London, 468 pp.
International Code of Zoological Nomenclature. (1999) Fourth edition. The International Trust for Zoological Nomenclature, London, 306 pp.
Jan, G. (1862) Enumerazione sistematico delle species d’ofidi del gruppo Calamaridae. Archivio per la Zoolia, l’Anatomia e la Fisiologia, 2, 1–76.
Kabata, Z. (1974) Mouth and mode of feeding of Caligidae (Copepoda), parasites of fishes, as determined by light and scanning electron microscopy. Journal of the Fisheries Research Board of Canada, 31, 1583–1588.
Kabata, Z. (1979) Parasitic Copepoda of British fishes. The Ray Society, London, 468 pp.
Kabata, Z. (1981) Copepoda (Crustacea) parasitic on fishes: problems and perspectives. Advances in Parasitology, 19, 1–71.
Kabata, Z. (1982) The evolution of host-parasite systems between fishes and Copepoda. In: Mettrick, D.F. & Desser, S.S. (Eds.), Parasites – their world and ours. Elsevier Biomedical Press, Amsterdam, pp. 203–212.
Kazachenko, V.N. (2001) Opredeliteĺ semeĭstv i rodov paraziticheskikh kopepod (Crustacea: Copepoda) ryb: Monografiia. Dal'nevostochnyi Gosudarstvennyĭ Tekhnicheskiĭ Rybokhoziaĭstvennyĭ Universitet, Vladivostok, 253 pp. [in Russian]
Kensley, B. & Grindley, J.R. (1973) South African parasitic Copepoda. Annals of the South African Museum, 62, 69–130.
Kirtisinghe, P. (1964) A review of the parasitic copepods of fish recorded from Ceylon, with description of additional forms. Bulletin of the Fisheries Research Station, Sri Lanka (Ceylon), 17, 45–132.
Leigh-Sharpe, W.H. (1933) Acespadia pomposa n. g. et sp., a parasitic copepod of Rhyncodon typicus. Parasitology, 25, 480–482.
Logan, V.H. & Odense, P.H. (1974) The integument of the ocean sunfish (Mola mola L.) (Plectognathi) with observations on the lesions from two ectoparasites, Capsala martinierei (Trematoda) and Philorthagoriscus serratus (Copepoda). Canadian Journal of Zoology, 54, 1039–1045.
Norman, B.M., Newbound, D.R. & Knott, B. (2000) A new species of Pandaridae (Copepoda), from the whale shark Rhincodon typus (Smith). Journal of Natural History, 34, 355–366.
Pillai, N.K. (1985) The Fauna of India. Parasitic Copepods of Marine Fishes. Zoological Survey of India, Calcutta, 900 pp.
Rowat, D. & Engelhardt, U. (2007) Seychelles: A case study of community involvement in the development of whale shark ecotourism and its socio-economic impact. Fisheries Research, 84, 109‒113.
Shiino, S.M. (1965) On Cecrops exiguus Wilson found in Japan. Report of the Faculty of Fisheries, Prefectural University of Mie, 5, 381–390.
Stevens, J.D. (2007) Whale shark (Rhincodon typus) biology and ecology: A review of the primary literature. Fisheries Research, 84, 4–9.
Taylor, J.G. (2007) Ram filter-feeding and nocturnal feeding of whale sharks (Rhincodon typus) at Ningaloo Reef, Western Australia. Fisheries Research, 84, 65–70.
Webb, D.A. (1991) The herbarium of Trinity College, Dublin: its history and contents. Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society, 106, 295–327.
Williams, E.H. & Williams, L.B. (1986) The first association of Conchoderma virgatum (Spengler) (Cirripedia: Thoracica) with a euryphorid copepod in the mouth of a fish. Galaxea, 5, 209–211.
Williams, K.L. & Wallach, V. (1989) Snakes of the World: Synopsis of Snake Generic Names. Krieger Publishing Co., Malabar, 234 pp.
Williams, K.L. & Wilson, L.D. (1967) A review of the colubrid snake genus Cemophora Cope. Tulane Studies in Zoology, 13, 103–124.
Wilson, C.B. (1907) North American parasitic copepods belonging to the family Caligidae. Parts 3 and 4. A revision of the Pandarinae and the Cecropinae. Proceedings of the United States National Museum, 33, 323–490, pls. 17–43.
Wilson, C.B. (1944) Parasitic copepods in the United States National Museum. Proceedings of the United States National Museum, 94, 529–582, pls. 20–34.
Wright, E.P. (1876) A new genus and species belonging to the family Pandarina. Proceedings of the Royal Irish Academy, 2, 583–585, pl. 35.
Yamaguti, S. (1963) Parasitic Copepoda and Branchiura of Fishes. Interscience Publishers, New York, 1104 pp.