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Naricolax zafirae sp. nov. (Copepoda: Bomolochidae) parasitic in the nasal cavities of Polydactylus oligodon (Polynemidae) from the Western Atlantic Ocean

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  22 September 2025

Fabiano Paschoal Open the ORCID record for Fabiano Paschoal [Opens in a new window] ,
João Victor Couto ,
Jorge Luiz Silva Nunes ,
Eduardo Jose Lopes-Torres  and
Felipe Bisaggio Pereira Open the ORCID record for Felipe Bisaggio Pereira [Opens in a new window]
Fabiano Paschoal*
Affiliation:
Departamento de Ciências Médicas Integradas, Faculdade de Ciências Médicas, Universidade Do Estado Do Rio de Janeiro, Cabo Frio, RJ, Brazil
João Victor Couto
Affiliation:
Programa de Pós-Graduação em Parasitologia, Instituto de Ciências Biológicas, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, MG, Brazil
Jorge Luiz Silva Nunes
Affiliation:
Laboratório de Organismos Aquáticos, Universidade Federal do Maranhão, São Luís, MA, Brazil
Eduardo Jose Lopes-Torres
Affiliation:
Departamento de Microbiologia, Imunologia e Parasitologia, Faculdade de Ciências Médicas, Universidade do Estado do Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil
Felipe Bisaggio Pereira
Affiliation:
Programa de Pós-Graduação em Parasitologia, Instituto de Ciências Biológicas, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, MG, Brazil
*
Corresponding author: Fabiano Paschoal; Email: paschoalfabiano@gmail.com
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Abstract

The cyclopoid family Bomolochidae Claus, 1875 is one of the most common groups of parasitic copepods infesting fishes worldwide. During a survey of marine fishes from northeast Brazil, a new species of Naricolax Ho, Do & Kasahara, 1983 was found in the nasal cavities of the littlescale threadfin Polydactylus oligodon (Günther, 1860) (Polynemidae) in the Maranhão Gulf, Brazil. Naricolax zafirae sp. nov. can be distinguished from all congeners because it has a pair of acutely pointed tines in the rostral area and an elongated last endopodal segment of leg 4, features that have never been reported in the genus. In addition, the new species differs from the closely related congeners by having a T-shaped rostral area, an outer spine on the second endopodal segment of leg 3 shorter than the segment, and by the apical seta on the last endopodal segment of leg 4 shorter than the rami. The present study provides the first report of a bomolochid parasitizing a fish of the family Polynemidae Rafinesque, 1815 as well as the first report of the genus Naricolax in the Atlantic Ocean. A dichotomous key for species of Naricolax is provided.

Keywords

Brazilian coastCyclopoidaectoparasitesMaranhão Gulfthreadfins

Information

Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom , Volume 105 , 2025 , e105
Copyright
© The Author(s), 2025. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom.

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