Corresponding author: Niel L. Bruce (
Academic editor: Saskia Brix
Bruce NL, Welicky RL, Hadfield KA, Smit NJ (2019) A new genus and species of fish parasitic cymothoid (Crustacea, Isopoda) from the Indian Ocean coast of South Africa, with a key to the externally attaching genera of Cymothoidae. ZooKeys 889: 1–15.
Taxonomic research on the family
In the period 1980 to the present day, despite the activity of the authors cited here, only six new cymothoid genera have been described (
The South African cymothoid fauna had remained little studied, with only 12 species in seven genera reported (
Unidentified material from Sodwana Bay, South Africa, was loaned from the
Abbreviations:
Bamba is an isiZulu word meaning ‘to grip’, combined with the ending –
Cephalon anterior margin wide, with ventral posteriorly directed rostrum separating bases of antennulae; posterior margin not trilobed. Body weakly vaulted; coxae 2–6 ventral, not visible in dorsal view; posterolateral margins of pereonites 6 and 7 posteriorly produced, that of pereonite 7 extending posteriorly along pleon to pleonites 2 or 3. Pleonites all wide, posterolateral margins narrowly rounded to acute, pleonite 1 largely visible; pleonites 1–2 ventrolateral margins not produced. Antennula and antenna both slender, antenna longer than antennula; bases widely separate. Pleopods 1–2 lamellar, pleopods 3 and 4 endopod with small, weak lobes, pleopod 5 endopod with small fleshy lobes; peduncle of pleopods 2–5 with fleshy medial lobes present.
Body twice as long as wide. Eyes posterolateral in position, less than 0.3 width of cephalon. Pereonite 2 shortest, 5 and 6 longest; pereonite 5 widest. Pleotelson flat. Mandible palp articles robust; article 3 broadly rounded, as long as proximal width. Maxillula with 4 terminal
Both
(from holotype and 23.0 mm female paratype).
(juvenile paratype 7.5 mm) . Body approximately 2.0 times longer than wide; posterolateral margins of pereonites laterally extending giving indented body outline; coxae posteriorly acute; pereonite 7 extending to posterior of pleonite 2. Pleon half as wide as body, all pleonites visible in dorsal view.
As the genus is monotypic, the species is identified by the generic characters, in particular the coxae being ventral in position rather than lateral, the pleonites being all wide, without ventrolateral processes, in combination with the short posteriorly directed ventral rostrum that separates the slender antennula and antenna.
There is no host data for the holotype and wild-caught paratypes; the specimen from the Durban Aquarium is from a dwarf angelfish (
The epithet is the word for louse (
1 | Cephalon posterior margin trisinuate; coxae 5–7 as long as or longer than respective pereonite (except |
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– | Cephalon posterior margin not trisinuate; coxae 5–7 manifestly shorter than respective pereonite |
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2 | Pleonites 1 and 2 ventrolateral margins produced |
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– | Pleonites 1 and 2 ventrolateral margins not produced |
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3 | Body dorsal surface strongly vaulted; coxae 5–7 ventrally directed; pleonites strongly produced ventrally |
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– | Body dorsal surface weakly vaulted; coxae 5–7 posteriorly directed; pleonites not strongly produce ventrally |
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4 | Uropod rami long, extending well beyond posterior of pleotelson; coxae conspicuous in dorsal view |
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– | Uropod rami short, not extending beyond posterior of pleotelson; coxae inconspicuous in dorsal view |
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5 | Cephalon without rostrum, or rostrum not projecting between antennula bases; antennula broader than and as long as, or longer than antenna; posterolateral margins of pereonites 5–7 produced; coxae 5–7 posteriorly acute |
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– | Rostrum folded under, projecting between antennula bases; antennula more slender than and shorter than antenna; posterolateral margins of pereonites 6 and 7 produced ( |
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6 | Coxae ventral in position, not or barely visible in dorsal view; posterolateral margins of pereonites 6 and 7 posteriorly produced, rounded; pleopods 1 and 2 lamellar, pleopods 3–5 endopods with weak lobes; pleopods hardly visible in dorsal view |
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– | Coxae lateral in position, largely not visible in dorsal view, posterolateral margins of pereonites 5–7 not produced; pleopod 5 with prominent folded fleshy lobes; pleopods clearly visible in dorsal view |
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7 | Mandible palp article 3 shorter than article 2; maxilla with 2 short hooked |
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– | Mandible palp article 3 longer than article 2; maxilla with 2 large nodular |
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RLW received final support from the Claude Leon Foundation for this research. The financial assistance of South Africa’s National Research Foundation (NRF) (Project IFR17021022411 Grant 109352, NJS, PI) towards this research is hereby acknowledged. Opinions expressed and conclusions arrived at, are those of the authors and are not necessarily to be attributed to the NRF. We would like to thank Albé Bosman, Collections Manager at the Iziko South African Museum, for providing information on and the loan of the museum specimens. This is contribution number 353 from the NWU-Water Research Group.