Skip to main content Skip to main navigation menu Skip to site footer
Responsive image
Issue: Vol. 5716 No. 1: 29 Oct. 2025
Type: Article
Published: 2025-10-29
DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.5716.1.2
Page range: 11-65
Abstract views: 58
PDF downloaded: 1

The Hatschekiidae (Copepoda: Siphonostomatoida) of Moreton Bay, Queensland, Australia, with a key to species reported from Australian waters

Department of Life Sciences, The Natural History Museum, Cromwell Road, London SW7 5BD, UK
Invertebrate Zoology, National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, Washington DC, 20560, U.S.A.; Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT 06269, USA
taxonomy parasitic copepods fish hosts new species Crustacea

Abstract

Eleven species of Hatschekia are recorded from the marine actinopterygian fishes of Moreton Bay, Queensland. Three of these are new to science: H. amyemmarum sp. nov. from Arothron hispidus (Linnaeus, 1758) and Arothron nigropunctatus (Bloch & Schneider, 1801), H. cribbi sp. nov. from Abudefduf bengalensis (Bloch, 1787), and H. cutmorei sp. nov. from Glaucosoma scapulare Ramsay, 1881. Of these three species, only H. cribbi sp. nov. is known from both sexes. Another seven species are new to Australia: H. aigoi Izawa, 2016 from Siganus fuscescens (Houttuyn, 1782), H. bifurcata Yamaguti & Yamasu, 1959 from Diploprion bifasciatum Cuvier, 1828, H. cernae Goggio, 1905 from Epinephelus coioides (Hamilton, 1822), H. geniculata Uyeno & Nagasawa, 2013 from Arothron nigropunctatus (a new host record), H. pholas (Wilson, 1906) from Arothron stellatus (Anonymous, 1798), H. quadrata Hewitt, 1969 from Tragulichthys jaculiferus (Cuvier, 1818) and Dicotylichthys punctulatus Kaup, 1885 (the latter being a new host record), and H. shari Uyeno & Ali, 2013 from Lethrinus nebulosus (Forsskål, 1775) and L. laticaudis Alleyne & MacLeay, 1877 in Moreton Bay (with the latter being a new host record). This species also occurred on L. nebulosus in New Caledonia. In addition, H. difficilis Kabata, 1991 is reported for the second time from its type host, Scarus ghobban Forsskål, 1775. Males are described for the first time for H. quadrata and H. pholas, and the importance of the males in taxonomy and in analysing relationships is discussed. Hatschekia flatti Uma Devi & Shyamasundari, 1980 is recognised as a junior subjective synonym of the distinctive H. cernae.

References

  1. Blades, P.I. & Youngbluth, M.J. (1980) Morphological, physiological, and behavioral aspects of mating in calanoid copepods. In: Kerfoot, W.C. (Ed.), Evolution and Ecology of Zooplankton Communities. Special Symposium No. 3, American Society of Limnology and Oceanography, Hanover, New Hampshire and London, pp. 39–51, figs. 1–9.
  2. Boxshall, G.A. (1987) A new genus and species of parasitic copepod (Siphonostomatoida: Hatschekiidae) from an Australian conger eel. Journal of Natural History, 21, 191–197. https://doi.org/10.1080/00222938700770061
  3. Boxshall, G.A. (2018) The sea lice (Copepoda: Caligidae) of Moreton Bay (Queensland, Australia), with descriptions of thirteen new species. Zootaxa, 4398 (1), 1–172. https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.4398.1.1
  4. Boxshall, G.A. & Halsey, S.H. (2004) An Introduction to Copepod Diversity. The Ray Society, London, 966 pp.
  5. Brian, A. (1906) Copepodi parassiti dei Pesci d’Italia. Tipo-Litografico R. Istituto Sordomuti, Genova, 187 pp., pls. 1–21. https://doi.org/10.5962/bhl.title.58642
  6. Capart, A. (1959) Copépodes parasites. Résultats Scientifiques de l’Expédition Océanographique Belge dans les Eaux Côtieres Africaines de l’Atlantique Sud (1948–1949), 3 (5), 55–126, figs. 1–37.
  7. Couto, J.V., Pontes, A.J., Feitosa, C.V., Pereira, F.B. & Paschoal, F. (2024) Redescription of Hatschekia exigua Pearse, 1951 (Copepoda: Hatschekiidae), parasitic on the Squirrelfish Holocentrus adscensionis (Osbeck, 1765) (Actinopterygii: Holocentridae) off Ceará, Northeastern Brazil, with first description of the male. Systematic Parasitology, 101 (3), 1–12. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11686-022-00551-3
  8. Cressey, R.F. (1968) A description of Hatschekia conifera Yamaguti, 1939 (Copepoda, Caligoida) including the first description of the male. Proceedings of the Biological Society of Washington, 81, 173–178. [https://www.jstor.org/stable/20104868]
  9. Cribb, T.H. & Bray, R.A. (2010) Gut wash, body soak, blender and heat-fixation: approaches to the effective collection, fixation and preservation of trematodes of fishes. Systematic Parasitology, 76, 1–7. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11230-010-9229-z
  10. Dippenaar, S.M. (2004) Reported siphonostomatoid copepods parasitic on marine fishes of southern Africa. Crustaceana, 77, 1281–1328. https://doi.org/10.1163/1568540043165985
  11. El-Rashidy, H.H. & Boxshall, G.A. (2011) Two new species of Parasitic Copepods (Crustacea) on two immigrant fishes from the Red Sea of the Family Siganidae. Systematic Parasitology, 19, 175–193. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11230-011-9298-7
  12. Eschmeyer, W. (Ed.) (1998) Catalog of Fishes. California Academy of Sciences, San Francisco, California, 2905 pp.
  13. Froese, R. & Pauly, D. (2024) FishBase. World Wide Web Electronic Publication. Available from: https://www.fishbase.se/search.php (accessed 30 April 2025)
  14. Goggio, E. (1905) Intorno al genere Clavella Oken (Hatschekia Poche). Archivo zoologico Italiano Napoli, 2, 215–225.
  15. Gurney, R. (1945) Some notes on the development and classification of parasitic Copepoda. Annals and Magazine of Natural History, Series 11, 12, 121–127. https://doi.org/10.1080/00222934508527494
  16. Heegaard, P. (1962) Parasitic copepods from Australian waters. Records of the Australian Museum, 25, 149–234. https://doi.org/10.3853/j.0067-1975.25.1962.661
  17. Heegaard, P. (1964) New names for Caligus dentatus and Hatschekia elongata. Crustaceana, 6, 319–320. https://doi.org/10.1163/156854064X00092
  18. Hewitt, G.C. (1969) Two new species of Hatschekia (Copepoda, Dichelesthiidae) from New Zealand waters. New Zealand Journal of Marine and Freshwater Research, 3, 159–168. https://doi.org/10.1080/00288330.1969.9515284
  19. Ho, J.-s. & Sey, O. (1996) Copepod parasites of Kuwait marine fishes: A preliminary report. Journal of the University of Kuwait, Science, 23, 61–69.
  20. Huys, R. & Boxshall, G.A. (1991) Copepod evolution. The Ray Society, London, 468 pp.
  21. Izawa, K. (2014) Some new and known species of the Lernanthropidae (Copepoda, Siphonostomatoida) parasitic on the branchial lamellae of Japanese actinopterygian fishes, with revision of two known species of the family and discussion on the insemination mode in the Siphonostomatoida. Crustaceana, 87, 1521–1558. https://doi.org/10.1163/15685403-00003739
  22. Izawa, K. (2015a) Some new and known species of Hatschekiidae (Copepoda, Siphonostomatoida) parasitic on Japanese actinopterygian fishes belonging to Ophidiformes, Beryciformes and Scorpaeniformes, with discussion on the female genital system and the insemination mode in Siphonostomatoida. Crustaceana, 88, 359–384. https://doi.org/10.1163/15685403-00003409
  23. Izawa, K. (2015b) Descriptions of the postembryonic developmental stages of Hatschekia bifurcata Yamaguti & Yamasu, 1959 (Copepoda, Siphonostomatoida, Hatschekiidae). Crustaceana, 88, 709–725. https://doi.org/10.1163/15685403-00003445
  24. Izawa, K. (2016a) Some new and known species of Hatschekia Poche, 1902 (Copepoda, Siphonostomatoida, Hatschekiidae) parasitic on the branchial lamellae of Japanese actinopterygian fishes belonging to Perciformes, with revision of the known species of the genus. Crustaceana, 89, 209–238. https://doi.org/10.1163/15685403-00003549
  25. Izawa, K. (2016b) Resurrection and redescription of Hatschekia cylindrica Shiino, 1957 (Copepoda, Siphonostomatoida, Hatschekiidae), with description of its developmental stages. Crustaceana, 89, 343–357. https://doi.org/10.1163/15685403-00003527
  26. Izawa, K. (2016c) Some new and known species of Hatschekia Poche, 1902 (Copepoda, Siphonostomatoida, Hatschekiidae) parasitic on the branchial lamellae of Japanese actinopterygian fishes belonging to Perciformes (2). Crustaceana, 89, 819–850. https://doi.org/10.1163/15685403-00003503
  27. Izawa, K. (2018) A new and two known species of Hatschekia Poche, 1902 (Copepoda, Siphonostomatoida, Hatschekiidae) parasitic on Japanese fishes. Crustaceana, 91, 1483–1493. https://doi.org/10.1163/15685403-00003844
  28. Jones, J.B. (1985) A revision of Hatschekia Poche, 1902 (Copepoda: Hatschekiidae), parasitic on marine fishes. New Zealand Journal of Zoology, 12, 213–271. https://doi.org/10.1080/03014223.1985.10428280
  29. Jones, J.B. & Cabral, P. (1990) New species of Hatschekia (Copepoda: Siphonostomatoida) from the gills of South Pacific fishes. Journal of the Royal Society of New Zealand, 20, 221–232. https://doi.org/10.1080/03036758.1990.10426726
  30. Justine, J.-L., Beveridge, I., Boxshall, G.A., Bray, R.A., Moravec, F., Trilles, J.-P. & Whittington, I.D. (2010a) Parasite biodiversity in coral reef fish: an annotated list of parasites (Isopoda, Copepoda, Monogenea, Digenea, Cestoda and Nematoda) collected in groupers (Serranidae, Epinephelinae) in New Caledonia. Folia Parasitologia, 57, 237–262. https://doi.org/10.14411/fp.2010.032
  31. Justine, J.-L., Beveridge, I., Boxshall, G.A., Bray, R.A., Moravec, F. & Whittington, I.D. (2010b) An annotated list of parasites (Copepoda, Monogenea, Digenea, Cestoda and Nematoda) collected in Emperors and Emperor Bream (Lethrinidae) in New Caledonia further highlights parasite biodiversity estimates on coral reef fish. Zootaxa, 2691 (1), 1–40. https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.2691.1.1
  32. Kabata, Z. (1979) Parasitic Copepoda of British fishes. The Ray Society, London, 468 pp.
  33. Kabata, Z. (1991) Copepoda parasitic on Australian fishes, XIII: family Hatschekiidae. Journal of Natural History, 25, 91–121. https://doi.org/10.1080/00222939100770081
  34. Kazachenko, V.N., Kovaleva, N.N., Nguyen, V.T. & Ngo, H.D. (2017) Three new species and one new genus of parasitic copepods (Crustacea: Copepoda) from fishes of the South China Sea. Russian Journal of Marine Biology, 43 (4), 264–269. https://doi.org/10.1134/S1063074017040058
  35. Lee, S., Lee, W. & Boxshall, G.A. (2013) Seven new species of Hatschekia Poche, 1902 (Copepoda: Siphonostomatoida: Hatschekiidae) parasitic on fishes of New Caledonia, and a redescription of H. cadenati Nuñes-Ruivo, 1954. Zoosystema, 35 (3), 377–413. https://doi.org/10.5252/z2013n3a3
  36. Nuñes-Ruivo, L. (1954) Parasites de poissons de mer ouest-africains récoltés par M. J. Cadenat III. Copépodes (2e note). Genres Prohatschekia n. gen. et Hatschekia Poche. Bulletin de l’Institute Français d’Afrique noire, Series A, 16, 479–505.
  37. Pearse, A.S. (1947) Parasitic copepods from Beaufort, North Carolina. Journal of the Elisha Mitchel Scientific Society, 63, 1–16.
  38. Pearse, A.S. (1948) A second report on parasitic copepods at Beaufort, N. C. Journal of the Elisha Mitchel Scientific Society, 64, 127–131.
  39. Pearse, A.S. (1951) Parasitic copepods from Bimini. Proceedings of the United States National Museum, 10, 357–362.
  40. Pillai, N.K. (1967) Copepods parasitic on Indian marine fishes. A Review. In: Proceedings of the Symposium on Crustacea. Symposium series, Marine Biological Association of India, 2, pp. 1556–1680.
  41. Pillai, N.K. (1968) Redescription of Caetrodes pholas C. B. Wilson and its transfer to Hatschekia Poche and the description of Hatschekia elliptica n. sp. Crustaceana, Supplement 1, 141–151. [https://www.jstor.org/stable/25027373]
  42. Pillai, N.K. (1985) Fauna of India. Parasitic copepods of marine fishes. Zoological Survey of India, Calcutta, 900 pp.
  43. Poche, F. (1902) Bemerkungen zu der Arbeit des Herrn Bassett-Smith: ‘A systematic description of parasitic Copepoda found on fishes, with an enumeration of the known species’. Zoologischer Anzeiger, 26, 8–20.
  44. Raibaut, A., Combes, C. & Benoit, F. (1998) Analysis of parasitic copepod species richness among Mediterranean fish. Journal of Marine Systems, 15, 185–206. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0924-7963(97)00079-1
  45. Romero, R.C. & Baeza, K.H. (1986) Two new species of Hatschekia Poche, 1902 (Copepoda, Hatschekiidae) parasitic on two inshore fishes from Antofagasta, Chile. Journal of Natural History, 20, 439–444. https://doi.org/10.1080/00222938600770331
  46. Rose, M. & Vassière, R. (1952) Catalogue préliminaire de Copépodes de l’Afrique du Nord (II). Bulletin de la Société d’Histoire naturelle de l’Afrique du Nord, 43, 164–176.
  47. Roubal, F.R., Armitage, R. & Rohde, K. (1983) Taxonomy of metazoan ectoparasites of snapper, Chrysophrys auratus (Family Sparidae), from southern Australia and New Zealand. Australian Journal of Zoology, Supplement, 94, 1–68. https://doi.org/10.1071/AJZS094
  48. Schram, T.A. & Aspholm, P.E. (1997) Redescription of male Hatschekia hippoglossi (Guérin-Méneville, [1837]) (Copepoda: Siphonostomatoida) and additional information on the female. Sarsia, 82, 1–18. https://doi.org/10.1080/00364827.1997.10413633
  49. Scott Holland, T.B., Bennett, S.M. & Bennett, M.B. (2006) Distribution of an asymmetrical copepod, Hatschekia plectropomi, on the gills of Plectropomus leopardus. Fish Biology, 68, 222–235. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.0022-1112.2006.00895.x
  50. Shiino, S.M. (1957) Copepods parasitic on Japanese fishes. 15. Eudactylinidae and Dichelesthiidae. Report of the Faculty of Fisheries, Prefectural University of Mie, 2, 392–410.
  51. Uma Devi, D.K. & Shyanasundari, K. (1980) Studies on copepod parasites of fishes of Waltaire coast: family Dichelesthiidae. Revista di Parassitologia, 41, 363–370.
  52. Uyeno, D. (2013) A new genus and species of hatschekiid copepod (Siphonostomatoida) from groupers (Actinopterygii: Serranidae) collected off the Ryukyu Archipelago, Japan. Systematic Parasitology, 84, 89–95. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11230-012-9395-2
  53. Uyeno, D. & Ali, A. (2013) Parasitic copepods from two species of commercial fishes collected off Iraq, with description of Hatschekia shari n. sp. Systematic Parasitology, 86, 301–312. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11230-013-9446-3
  54. Uyeno, D. & Nagasawa, K. (2009a) Three new species of Hatschekia Poche, 1902 (Siphonostomatoida: Hatschekiidae) parasitic on Abalistes filamentosus (Pisces: Tetraodontiformes: Balistidae) from off Okinawa, Japan. Systematic Parasitology, 74, 225–237. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11230-009-9208-4
  55. Uyeno, D. & Nagasawa, K. (2009b) Redescription of four species of Hatschekia (Siphonostomatoida: Hatschekiidae) parasitic on tetraodontiform fishes from Japan. Zootaxa, 2110 (1), 1–21. https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.2110.1.1
  56. Uyeno, D. & Nagasawa, K. (2010a) A new species of parasitic copepod of the genus Hatschekia Poche, 1902 (Siphonostomatoida: Hatschekiidae) from filefishes (Pisces: Tetraodontiformes: Monacanthidae) from off Okinawa, Japan. Systematic Parasitology, 76, 53–58. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11230-010-9232-4
  57. Uyeno, D. & Nagasawa, K. (2010b) The copepod genus Hatschekia Poche, 1902 (Siphonostomatoida: Hatschekiidae) from triggerfishes (Pisces: Tetraodontiformes: Balistidae) from off the Ryukyu Islands, Japan, with descriptions of eleven new species. Zootaxa, 2478 (1), 1–40. https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.2478.1.1
  58. Uyeno, D. & Nagasawa, K. (2012) Two new species of the copepod Hatschekia Poche, 1902 (Siphonostomatoida: Hatschekiidae) from angelfishes (Pisces: Perciformes: Pomacanthidae) collected during the KUMEJIMA 2009 Expedition. Zootaxa, 3367 (1), 49–59. https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.3367.1.5
  59. Uyeno, D. & Nagasawa, K. (2013) The genus Hatschekia (Copepoda: Hatschekiidae) from pufferfishes (Tetraodontiformes: Tetraodontidae) off the Ryukyu Islands, Japan, with descriptions of four new species and a redescription of H. pholas. Folia Parasitologica, 60, 61–74. https://doi.org/10.14411/fp.2013.008
  60. Villalba, C. (1986) Contribucion al conocimiento del Genero Hatschekia Poche, 1902 en Chile (Copepoda: Hatschekiidae). Boletin de la Sociedad de Biologia de Concepción, Chile, 37, 155–170.
  61. Walter, T.C. & Boxshall, G.A. (2025) World of Copepods database. Hatschekia Poche, 1902. Available from: https://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=135591 (accessed 17 June 2025)
  62. Wilson, C.B. (1906) Report on some parasitic Copepoda collected by Professor Herdmann, at Ceylon, in 1902. In: Herdman, W.A. (Ed.), Report to the Government of Ceylon on the Pearl Oyster Fishery, Gulf of Mannar, 5, pp. 189–210, pls. 1–5.
  63. Wilson, C.B. (1908) North American Parasitic Copepods: A list of those found upon the fishes of the Pacific coast, with descriptions of new genera and species. Proceedings of the United States National Museum, 35, 431–481. https://doi.org/10.5479/si.00963801.35-1652.431
  64. Wilson, C.B. (1913) Crustacean parasites of West Indian fishes and land crabs, with descriptions of new genera and species. Proceedings of the United States National Museum, 44, 189–227, pls. 18–53. https://doi.org/10.5479/si.00963801.44-1950.189
  65. Yamaguti, S. (1939) Parasitic copepods from fishes of Japan, V. Caligoida III. Volumen jubilare Professor Sudao Yoshida, 2, 443–487.
  66. Yamaguti, S. (1954) Parasitic copepods from fishes of Celebes and Borneo. Publications of the Seto Marine Biological Laboratory, 3, 375–398. https://doi.org/10.5134/174483
  67. Yamaguti, S. & Yamasu, T. (1954) New parasitic copepods from Japanese fishes. Publications of the Seto Marine Biological Laboratory, 8, 141–152. https://doi.org/10.5134/174695
  68. Yü, S.C. (1933) Chinese parasitic copepods collected by H. W. Wu, with descriptions of new genera and species. Bulletin of the Fan Memorial Institute of Biology, 4, 117–139.

How to Cite

Boxshall, G.A. & Bernot, J.P. (2025) The Hatschekiidae (Copepoda: Siphonostomatoida) of Moreton Bay, Queensland, Australia, with a key to species reported from Australian waters. Zootaxa, 5716 (1), 11–65. https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.5716.1.2