Markevitchielinus anchoratus Titar, 1975 (Copepoda: Chondracanthidae) parasitic on sea raven Hemitripterus villosus (Pallas, 1814) (Actinopterygii: Hemitripteridae), with the range extension of the copepod in the Northwestern Pacific Ocean

Abstract

Markevitchielinus anchoratus Titar, 1975 is reported based on an adult female from the floor of the buccal cavity of a sea raven Hemitripterus villosus (Pallas, 1814) caught in Onagawa Bay, an inlet of the Northwestern Pacific Ocean, Miyagi Prefecture, northern Japan. The female specimen is briefly described. The female inserted its head with a pair of large, lateral processes and the anterior part of an elongate neck into the tissues of the buccal cavity floor. The present collection of M. anchoratus represents the third occurrence record of the species and extends its distributional range from Kunashiri and Shikotan islands, east of Hokkaido, to Onagawa Bay off Honshu, the largest main island of Japan. The species is specific to the sea raven and may be a subarctic species.