Bomolochus varunae, a new species of parasitic Copepod from Anodontostoma chacunda (Hamilton Buchanan)

Abstract

One hundred females and one male attached to a female were obtained from the eye of the fish Anodontostoma chacunda from the Arabian sea. The parasites were obtained from fish collected during the experimental fishing cruise of R.V. Varuna from Cochin to Karwar between February 10 to 14, 1965. Holotype female and allotype male are deposited at the Central Marine Fisheries Researdi Institute. In live condition the parasites were reddish, lodged between the eye ball and the adipose lid of the host. When a small needle was introduced to remove the parasite into sea water they ran about over the eye ball evading the needle. It required patience in some cases, to exhaust the parasite before removing it from the eye intact. In most cases they shed the egg strings inside the eye. Normally each eye of the host contained one parasite and 98 % of the fish examined had parasites.