Antoniou, C

Crocetta, F

Kleitou, P

Lorenti, M

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217ASPIXIANA 42 2 217-218 München, Dezember 2019 ISSN 0341-8391Scientific noteFirst record of ectoparasitic isopods on the invasive lionfish  Pterois miles (Bennett, 1828)(Crustacea, Cymothoidae and Teleostei, Scorpaenidae)Charalambos Antoniou, Periklis Kleitou, Fabio Crocetta & Maurizio LorentiCharalambos Antoniou (corresponding author) & Periklis Kleitou, Marine and Environmental Research (MER) Lab Ltd., Limas-sol, Cyprus; e-mail: cantoniou@merresearch.comFabio Crocetta & Maurizio Lorenti, Stazione Zoologica di Napoli Anton Dohrn, Department of Integrative Marine Ecology, Center of Villa Dohrn - Benthic Ecology, Ischia (NA), ItalyThe lionfish Pterois miles (Bennett, 1828) is a benthic coastal ray-finned fish native to the western Indo-Pacif-ic region, that recently invaded the Mediterranean basin (Kletou et al. 2016). We first document the occurrence of six Nerocila Leach, 1818 parasites collected from four adult lionfish host specimens from the southern coasts of Cyprus (Table 1). Five isopods were collected on the skin, while one was found attached in the inner bran-chial cavity, in the approximate location of the vestibu-lar labyrinth (Table 2; Fig. 1). The isopods specimens consisted of four transitional individuals, possibly young females (Table 2: specimens 1-4), a juvenile male Fig. 1. Nerocila bivittata found parasitizing Pterois miles in Cyprus. A-B. Larvigerous female. C. “Aster” form. D. Male.DBC218(Table 2: specimen 5; Fig. 1D), and a large larvigerous female (Table 2: specimen 6; Fig. 1), belonging to Nero-cila bivittata (Risso, 1816) (Crustacea, Isopoda, Cymo-thoida, Cymothoidae). The brooding female and the male were found co-occurring in different positions on the same fish, namely pelvic fins and gill cavity (Table 2; Figs 1A-B,D). One individual (Table 2: specimen 2; Fig. 1C) also featured a peculiar extension of pereonites and coxae reminiscent of the “aster” form of the Pacific-Atlantic Nerocila acuminata (Brusca, 1981). However, among the other features, the morphology of uropods in the present specimen (endopod lacking an acute point or a distinct distomedial tooth or sinuosity) looks dif-ferent from that figured for N. acuminata (Brusca 1981, Bruce 1987), and therefore we assigned that specimen to N. bivittata as well.Our findings constitute the first records of a Pterois miles - Nerocila bivittata association. In addition, the oc-currence of different stages of N. bivittata on lionfish shows that the isopod has the potential of completing its life cycle on this introduced host, which points to a stability of the interactions between the two species.ReferencesBruce, N. L. 1987. Australian species of Nerocila Leach, 1818, and Creniola n. gen. (Isopoda: Cymothoidae), crustacean parasites of marine fishes. Records of the Australian Museum 39 (6): 355-412.Brusca, R. C. 1981. A monograph on the Isopoda Cymothoidae (Crustacea) of the eastern Pacific. Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society 73 (2): 117-199.Kletou, D., Hall-Spencer, J. M. & Kleitou, P. 2016. A lionfish (Pterois miles) invasion has begun in the Mediterranean Sea. Marine Biodiversity Records 9 (1): 46.Table 1. Localities where parasitized lionfishes where found, with date, depth (in meters), and environmental features.Locality Date Coordinate Depth SubstrateLimassol major port 12/07/2017 34°38.677' N 33°01.251' E 3 Port breakwatersMoni 18/07/2017 34°41.698' N 33°11.885' E 26.5 Hard substrate with sparse Posidonia oceanica meadowsCavo Greco 03/08/2017 34°59.038' N 34°04.667' E 20 Hard substrateCavo Greco 03/08/2017 34°59.091' N 34°04.632' E 22 Hard substrateTable 2. Lionfish and isopod morphometric, and location of infestation. Abbreviations used: BL, body length (in mm); BW, body width (in mm); TL, total length (in cm); W, weight (in grams).Nerocila bivittata specimen Figure Location of infestation Pterois miles Nerocila bivittataTL W BL BW1 Caudal peduncle 22.5 178 14.5 7.82 1C Anal fin 22.5 178 10.5 4.53 Caudal peduncle 19.8 108 12.9 6.94 Abdomen 22.8 164 13.33 7.115 1D Gill cavity 30.3 528 8.43 3.756 1A, 1B Between the pelvic fins 30.3 528 26.22 13.82View publication stats

First record of ectoparasitic isopods on the invasive lionfish Pterois miles (Bennett, 1828)

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First record of ectoparasitic isopods on the invasive lionfish Pterois miles (Bennett, 1828)

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