Cymothoa paradoxa Haller, 1880

John Hollier, 2017, The type specimens of parasitic marine isopods (Crustacea: Isopoda: Cymothooidea) described by Henri de Saussure and Gottfried Haller deposited in the Muséum d’histoire naturelle de Genève, Revue suisse de Zoologie 124 (1), pp. 183-186 : 185

paradoxa Haller, 1880: 378 -380 [ Cymothoa ].

Indischer Ocean. One ♀.

The MHNG collection includes one specimen in alcohol under the name Cymothoa paradoxa . The vial containing the specimen has the typewritten label “ Cymothoa paradoxa HALLER , holotype transféré en alcool 18.IV.1985” and a label handwritten in pencil “Don de Dr G Haller, Cymothoa paradoxa Hall. Dans la bouche d’une caranx carangus Bloch. Malabar. Trouvé par G Lunel”. This label has three holes, having been folded and secured on a pin, and has been sealed in protective plastic. Haller stated that the specimen came from the mouth of a Caranx carangus Bloch, 1793. This is a junior synonym of C. hippos (Linnaeus, 1766), a fish with an Atlantic distribution; the host was probably the Indian Ocean species C. ignobilis (Forsskål, 1775). Haller also stated that had he had more specimens he would probably have erected a new genus for this species. Cymotha paradoxa was placed in the synonymy of Enispa irregularis (Bleeker, 1857) by Bruce (1990). This specimen is the holotype.

Cymothoa paradoxa Haller, 1880