Cymothoa spinipalpa sp. nov. (Isopoda, Cymothoidae) a buccal cavity parasite of the marine fish, Oligoplites saurus, is described on the basis of eight male specimens and one female. The fish hosts were captured in the coastal waters of Natal, Rio Grande do Norte State, Brazil. In the new species, the anterior margin of the cephalon is doubled ventrally over the bases of the antennae. In this respect, it resembles C. recifea Thatcher & Fonseca, 2005. It differs from that species, however, in being much smaller and having basal carinae on the pereopods 4 to 7 that are small and rounded (not large and pointed). Also, pleopods 2-4 lack the folds and pockets that are present in C. recifea. The new species can be distinguished from all known Cymothoa... |