Taxonomy and ecology of pennellid copepods of the genus Lernaeenicus (Siphonostomatoida) collected from marine food fishes of the southeast coast of India

Abstract

The parasitic copepod Lernaeenicus Le Sueur (Siphonostomatoida, Pennellidae), has recently been found frequently infecting some of the marine food fishes of southeast coast of India. It is a mesoparasite, since the head and neck are inserted and attached to the muscle by making a wound/hole on the body and rest of the parasite body with the egg sacs hanging outside. The fishes were collected from the fishing ports of Nagapattinam and Parangipettai, Tamil Nadu, southeast coast of India for three years from January 2010 to December 2013. The taxonomy and ecology of some of the infested pennellids were studied in detail with its histopathology. A total of nine species of Lernaeenicus was found infested on different regions of various fishes which are given below: 1) Lernaeenicus alatus Rangnekar (host: Scomberomorus guttatus, site: fins of dorsal and caudal) 2) L. anchoviellae Sebastian & George (host: Gnathanodon speciosus, site: dorsal side of the body) 3) L. hemirhamphi Kirtisinghe (host: Hemiramphus far, H. lutkei and Euleptorhamphus viridis, site: entire body preferably lateral and ventral sides) 4) L. polynemi (Bassett-Smith) (host: Eleutheronema tetradactylum, site: entire body including fins and rays) 5) L. seeri Kirtisinghe (host: Acanthocybium solandri, site: entire body preferably ventral region) 6) L. stromatei Gnanamuthu (host: Parastromateus niger, site: cloaca, eye ball and nostrils) 7) Lernaeenicusd and attached to the muscle by making a wound/hole on the body and rest of the parasite body with the egg sacs hanging outside. The fishes were collected from the fishing ports of Nagapattinam and Parangipettai, Tamil Nadu, southeast coast of India for three years from January 2010 to December 2013. The taxonomy and ecology of some of the infested pennellids were studied in detail with its histopathology. A total of nine species of Lernaeenicus was found infested on different regions of various fishes which are given below: 1) Lernaeenicus alatus Rangnekar (host: Scomberomorus guttatus, site: fins of dorsal and caudal) 2) L. anchoviellae Sebastian & George (host: Gnathanodon speciosus, site: dorsal side of the body) 3) L. hemirhamphi Kirtisinghe (host: Hemiramphus far, H. lutkei and Euleptorhamphus viridis, site: entire body preferably lateral and ventral sides) 4) L. polynemi (Bassett-Smith) (host: Eleutheronema tetradactylum, site: entire body including fins and rays) 5) L. seeri Kirtisinghe (host: Acanthocybium solandri, site: entire body preferably ventral region) 6) L. stromatei Gnanamuthu (host: Parastromateus niger, site: cloaca, eye ball and nostrils) 7) Lernaeenicus