Parasitic Copepoda (Ergasilus sp.) Found on the Epidermis of the Larval Fish of Red Sea Bream (Pagrus major)

Abstract

A parasitic copepoda was found on the epidermis of larval fish of red sea bream (Pagrus major) of 7.2-11.3 mm long, 14–20 days after hatching during artificial rearing. From the morphological observation, the parasite is considered as one of the Ergasilus sp. The present work is the first report on the parasitism of Ergasilus sp. on red sea bream. Since only a small number of fish among many were found to be parasited with the copepoda, the parasite does not seem to give serious damage for rearing the red sea bream. © 1980, The Japanese Society of Fish Pathology. All rights reserved.