First Record of the Fish Louse Argulus quadristriatus (Branchiura: Arguloida: Argulidae) from Japanese Waters, with Three New Host Records

Abstract

An argulid branchiuran, Argulus quadristriatus Devaraj and Ameer Hamsa, 1977, is reported on the basis of specimens of both sexes isolated from two species of goatfish [Upeneus tragula Richardson, 1846 and Parupeneus ciliatus (Lacepède, 1802) (Perciformes: Mullidae)] and the goby Favonigobius reichei (Bleeker, 1854) (Perciformes: Gobiidae) collected in Kagoshima Bay and off both the east and west coasts of Okinawa-jima island, southern Japan. The branchiuran is easily distinguished from its nine previously recorded congeners in Japanese waters by the presence of one posterior spine on the antennule and scales ornamenting the basal half of the mouthtube. These are the first records of this branchiuran from the North Pacific Ocean including Japanese waters, and the three fish species mentioned above are new hosts for it.