New Species of Clavella (Copepoda : Lernaeopodidae) Parasitic on Japanese Rattails (Pisces : Macrouridae)

Abstract

Six new species of Clavella (Lernaeopodidae) are described based on the specimens recovered from the oral and gill cavities of Japanese rattails (Macrouridae) in the collection of Prof. Osamu Okamura kept at Kochi iversity in Kochi, Japan. They are: Clavella gadomi n. sp. from Gadomus colletti; Clavella sokodarae n. sp. from Coryphaenoides nasutus and Coryphaenoides marginatus; Clavella longicauda n. sp. from C. marginatus; Clavella okamurai n. sp. from C. marginatus and C. nasutus; avella collaris n. sp. from Coelorhynchus paralleus and Coelorhynchus gilberti; and Clavella diversia n. sp. from C. paralleus and C. gilberti. The host fishes were collected from deep-sea regions in Sagami Bay and Tosa Bay, and off Okinawa. Detailed discussions between each new species and its closest congeners are provided.