Nagasawa, K., M. Nitta & K. Kawai. (2023). First specimen-based record of Argulus japonicus (Branchiura: Argulidae), an ectoparasite of freshwater fishes, from Okayama Prefecture, western Japan. Biogeography. 25:19-21.
First specimen-based record of Argulus japonicus (Branchiura: Argulidae), an ectoparasite of freshwater fishes, from Okayama Prefecture, western Japan.
Biogeography
25:19-21.
Publication
Available for editors
An argulid branchiran is known to infect carp Cyprinus carpio Linnaeus, 1758 farmed in Okayama Prefecture, western Japan, but no species identifcation has been made to date. A male of Argulus japonicus Thiele, 1900 was collected from the body surface of a pale chub Opsariichthys platypus (Temminck & Schlegel, 1846) (Cyprinidae) in the Seno-o River, a tributary of the Kurashiki River, Okayama Prefecture. The specimen collected is briefly described and reported herein as the first specimen-based record for A. japonicus from this prefecture. The collection site was the middle-reaches of the Seno-o River flowing through a residential area, where the current was very slow due to a sluice gate installed downstream and only cyprinids including pale chub were collected. This indicates that A. japonicus can maintain its population in such lentic waters utilizing cyprinids as its hosts.