On a New Host Record of Nerocila Poruvae (Crustacea: Isopoda: Cymothoidae) from West Bengal

Abstract

Members of the genus Nerocila (Isopoda: Cymothoidae) are well known ectoparasites on marine, estuarine and freshwater fishes and even on aquatic snakes. These are represented by 14 species from India. Several workers studied these parasitic isopods from Indian coasts (Schiödte and Meinert, 1881; Barnard, 1936; Chidambaram and Menon, 1945; Pillai, 1954, 1960; Bal and Joshi, 1959; Ramakrishna and Venkataramaniah, 1978; Jayadev Babu and Sanjeeva Raj, 1980; Jalajakumari et al., 1987; Bruce and Harrison-Nelson, 1988; Ghatak, 1998; Ravichandran et al., 2001; Kensley, 2001; Rajkumar et al., 2006; Rameshkumar and Ravichandran, 2010; Rameshkumar et al., 2011). A total of 22 species were recorded as hosts for these isopod parasites from the Indian region. In this communication, a new host, namely, Setipinna tenuifilis Valenciennes (Family Engraulidae) for the isopod parasite, Nerocila poruvae Rameshkumar, Ravichandran and Trilles, 2011(Figs. 1 and 2) is reported from West Bengal coast (Bakkhali and Digha) along with comprehensive parasite-host and locality records of all the 14 species hitherto known from India (Table 1). This species was described earlier from the fish Thryssa mystax at Vedaranyam coast of South India by Rameshkumar et al. (2011). As such, this is the second report of this species from India with its extended distribution further northwards up to West Bengal.