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A taxonomic review of the branchial fish parasitic genus Elthusa Schioedte & Meinert, 1884 (Crustacea: Isopoda: Cymothoidae) from Indian waters, with the description of three new species

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Abstract

The genus Elthusa Schioedte & Meinert, 1884 from Indian waters is reviewed and three new species are described from India. A revised generic diagnosis is provided based on the type species and 13 species of Elthusa are regarded as Elthusa incertae sedis. Female stages of Elthusa fistularia sp. nov. collected from Fistularia petimba Lacepède,1803 and Elthusa pseudorhombus sp. nov. from Pseudorhombus dupliciocellatus Regan, 1905 are described based on the female. Elthusa uranoscopus sp. nov. from Uranoscopus guttatus Cuvier, 1829 described from female and male. The female and male stages of Elthusa samariscii (Shiino, 1951) are redescribed and the transitional and larval (premanca and manca) stages are described. All the species were collected from the southwest coast of India. Elthusa fistularia sp. nov. is distinguished by cephalon 1.20 times wider than long; pleotelson broadly rounded, 1.70 times as wide as long, lateral margin convex; widest pleon 0.80 width of widest pereon; uropod rami subequal; and antenna 9-segmented, antennular bases moderately wide set. Elthusa pseudorhombus sp. nov. is characterized by cephalon 1.70 times wider than long; widest pleon 0.75 width of widest pereon; pleotelson 1.50 times as wide as long, evenly rounded; antenna with 10 articles, antennal bases widely separated; and uropod endopod shorter than exopod. Elthusa uranoscopus sp. nov. can be identified by cephalon 1.60 times wider than long, moderately immersed in the pereonite 1; widest pleon 0.84 width of widest pereon; pleotelson 1.80 times as wide as long posterior margin rounded, lateral margins convex; antenna 11 articled, slightly longer than antennula, greatly wider antennal bases; and uropod rami, endopod longer than exopod.

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Acknowledgments

PTA acknowledge the DS Kothari Post-Doctoral Fellowship of University Grants Commission, New Delhi (No.F.4-2/2006 (BSR)/BL/16–17/0401; dated: 28th August 2017) awarded to him. We extend our sincere thanks to Dr. Niel L. Bruce, for his valuable revision/suggestions/discussions on the generic revision of Elthusa during the later stage of MS revision. Further, we gratefully acknowledge the effort made by the two anonymous reviewers for their critical reviewing of the manuscript and making valuable suggestions for the improvement of the manuscript.

Funding

This research was financed by the University Grants Commission, New Delhi through Post-Doctoral Fellowship to PTA (No.F.4-2/2006 (BSR)/BL/16–17/0401; dated: 28th August 2017).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Aquatic Biology & Fisheries, University of Kerala, Karyavattom, Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, 695 581, India

    Panakkool Thamban Aneesh, Ameri Kottarathil Helna & Appukuttannair Biju Kumar

  2. University of Montpellier, Montpellier, France

    Jean-Paul Trilles

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  1. Panakkool Thamban Aneesh
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  2. Ameri Kottarathil Helna
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Correspondence to Panakkool Thamban Aneesh.

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The specimen is not under the listed category of experimental animals which need ethics approval.

Sampling and field studies

All necessary permits for sampling and observational field studies have been obtained by the authors from the competent authorities.

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Type and voucher specimens were deposited in the collections of Western Ghat Field Research Centre of Zoological Survey of India, Kozhikode (ZSI/WGRC).

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PTA is the main worker on the topic and prepared the draft of the manuscript. PTA, AKH and AB conceived and designed research. PTA and AB conducted the field work. AKH helped with interpretation of the results. JPT critically reviewed for improving the quality of the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

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Aneesh, P.T., Helna, A.K., Kumar, A.B. et al. A taxonomic review of the branchial fish parasitic genus Elthusa Schioedte & Meinert, 1884 (Crustacea: Isopoda: Cymothoidae) from Indian waters, with the description of three new species. Mar. Biodivers. 50, 65 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12526-020-01084-6

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