Survival of Argulus japonicus (Branchiura: Argulidae) on a cyprinid in drought-induced brackish waters in a Japanese lake

Abstract

Two specimens of a freshwater fish parasite Argulus japonicus Thiele, 1900 were found to be mixed in a sample of over 600 specimens of a brackish-water fish parasite Caligus orientalis Gusev, 1951 in a glass vial kept at Hiroshima University. These specimens were all collected in September 1973 from the body surface of a moribund Japanese white crucian carp, Carassius cuvieri Temminck & Schlegel, 1846, in drought-induced brackish waters of Lake Shinji, Shimane Prefecture, Japan. This collection indicates that A. japonicus can survive in brackish waters under unusual climate conditions.