Pennella sagitta ( Linnaeus, 1758 )

Hogans, W. E., 2017, Review of Pennella Oken, 1816 (Copepoda: Pennellidae) with a description of Pennella benzi sp. nov., a parasite of Escolar, Lepidocybium flavobrunneum (Pisces) in the northwest Atlantic Ocean, Zootaxa 4244 (1), pp. 1-38 : 31

Pennella sagitta ( Linnaeus, 1758)

( Fig. 18 )

Synonyms. Pennella bocconii Lamartinier, 1798 , P. branchiata ( Blainville, 1822)

Type host and locality. Antennarius sp (?), Atlantic Ocean.

Morphology. Size: 20–25 mm. Papillae: full coverage, clavate and tubiform, simple branching. Holdfasts: two only, short. First antenna with three segments, second with two segments. Plumes: simple, single or double.

Remarks: A valid species. Found so far only on sargassum fish of the family Antennaridae. Redescribed from Histrio histrio , Atlantic Ocean ( Hogans 1988a). Possibly found on another frogfish, Anntenarius sp. (Mediterranean) ( Brian 1908), but this record is not based on adequate descriptions or figures. Previously confused with P. diodontis , but P. sagitta is the smallest Pennella and is a separate, distinct species ( Hogans 1988a). Pennella sagitta has been repeatedly shown by many authors to be a soft, delicate parasite with uniform external morphology among specimens ( Hogans 1988a and references therein).

Figures

FIGURE 18. Pennella sagitta a. habitus, ventral; b. cephalothorax, dorsal; c. first antenna, dorsal; d. apical armature of first antenna, dorsal; e. terminal segment, second antenna, dorsal (from Hogans 1988 a).