Review of the fish parasitic genus Ceratothoa Dana, 1852 (Crustacea, Isopoda, Cymothoidae) from South Africa, including the description of two new species

Abstract

The genus Ceratothoa Dana, 1852 is revised for South African waters and re-diagnosed. Ceratothoa retusa (Schioedte & Meinert, 1883) is recorded from the eastern coast, and Ceratothoa africanae sp. n. and C. famosa sp. n. are described; C. imbricata (Fabricius, 1775) and C. trigonocephala (Leach, 1818), are redescribed, revised and excluded from the South African fauna. Ceratothoa africanae sp. n. can be distinguished by the stout body shape of the female; triangular cephalon with a pointed rostrum; short uropods which do not extend past the pleotelson; large carinae on the pereopod basis; a broad pleon; and large medial lobes on female pleopods. Ceratothoa famosa sp. n. is characterised by the long rectangular body shape; pereonite 1 with a raised medial protrusion; narrow antenna with antennule article 1 expanded; uropods which reach the posterior margin of the pleotelson; narrow rami on uropods; and no appendix masculina on pleopod 2 of the male specimens.