NEEDLEFISH COPEPODS 



The accounts of the copepods found on needle- 

 fishes are arranged in tliree orders: Cyclopidea, 

 Caligidea, and Philichthyidea. 



Order Cyclopidea 



Two families of cyclopid copepods were repre- 

 sented in the collections: Ergasilidae and Bomolo- 

 chidae. 



FAMILY ERGASILIDAE 



Eleven species of ergasilids were collected rep- 

 resenting three genera; ErgmUus, ParaergasUus, 

 and Acusicola, new genus. New species are de- 

 scribed in each genus. 



Ergasilus spatulus Cressey, New Species 



Figures 1 to 9 



Specim<jns studied. — Twenty-nine females from 

 two collections from North America. The first col- 

 lection containing the holotype female (USNM 

 125675) and 13 paratype females (USNM 125676) 

 parasitic on the gill filaments of Strongylura 

 marina (TU 6950) caught in Lake Pontchartrain, 

 La. The second collection of six females is from 

 the gill filaments of S. fimucu and S. Tnarina 

 caught at Toituguero, Costa Kica. 



Female. — Body form as in figure 1. Total length 

 725 fi. Greatest width 363 fi measured at widest part 

 of cephalon. First thoracic segment partially fused 

 with head, composing cephalon. Cephalon 500 n 



350 



U.S. PISH AND WILDLIFE SERVICE 



