Mesanophrys cf. carcini Small & Lynn in Aescht, 2001

The newly observed specimens resemble those of free-living forms of Mesanophrys carcini Small & Lynn in Aescht, 2001 in all respects except: numbers of somatic kineties (10 in parasitic forms vs 11 in free-living forms) and body shapes (variable in parasitic forms vs constant slim and spindle-shaped to long fusiform in free-living forms) (Grolière & Leglise 1977; Song & Wilbert 2000). These differences may be due to different life-styles and abundance of food sources.