all of these situations are difficult to assess except 

 where damage or reduced efficiency to the host can 

 be denionstnited. 



Colobomatus goodingi is clearly parasitic. The 

 host reaction is evidence that this coj^epod is caus- 

 ing some damage to the needlefish. Tlie capsules 

 formed on the jaw of the host must cause hydro- 

 dynamic interference with swimming and hence 

 with the food-getting process. 



Caligodes laciniahis must reduce the efficiency 

 of the oral valves. We have examined specimens in 

 which the oral valves were literally bulging with 

 this parasite. As in all other caligid copepods, its 

 mandibles are adapted for cutting and rasping and 

 it undou'btedly feeds on the hosts' tissues. Usually 

 tissue damage was not observed, and it is probable 

 that caligid copepods inflict serious physical dam- 

 age to their hosts only when present in great 

 numbers. 



No damage to the host tissue was apparent from 

 adult C aligns, but they have to be considered para- 

 sitic because their mouth parts are adapted to feed 

 on tissue. The fins of Phifyhelone argahis from 

 Annobon Island that were infested with chalimus 

 stages of this genus were deformed (Collette and 

 Parin, 1970). The damage probably would re- 

 duce the efficiency of the fins. 



No observable injury was caused by the pres- 

 ence of Lemanthropus on the gill filaments. Be- 

 cause the mouth parts are adapted for cutting and 

 rasping, however, they must inflict some tissue 

 damage. As with many other species of parasitic 

 copepods, small numbers of these may be tolerated 

 by the hosts with little damage or discomfort. 



We cannot demonstrate that ergasilids were 

 causing injury to the gill filaments to which they 

 were attached but reports (Dogiel, Petrushevski, 

 and Polyanski, 1961, p. .315; Rogers, 1969, p. 445), 

 cite severe damage to host tissue when the para- 

 sites are present in large numbers. Because of this 

 capability they must be considered parasitic. 



The only group of needlefish copepods which we 

 do not consider parasitic are the bomolochids. It 

 seems likely to us that this relationship is com- 

 mensal or even mutualistic. Bomolochid copepods 

 are not highly modified in comparison with the 

 other copepods considered here. They are able to 

 move about freely within their preferred habitats 

 (oral or gill chaml}er) and may actually clean 

 these areas of detritus, accumulated mucus, or 



other undesirable matter. Because they do not at- 

 tach to the host securely (unlike most of the other 

 species considered here) they probably do not feed 

 on host tissue. To do so would require the ability 

 to maintain one position for a long period of time, 

 and, in view of their weakly developed mouth 

 parts, they are probably not able to do this. 



Until we know more of the feeding and interfer- 

 ence effects of copepods found on fishes the ques- 

 tion of relationship to the host of most of them 

 cannot be answered definitively. 



ADDENDUM 



Subsequent to the completion and submission of 

 this manuscript the junior author examined addi- 

 tional material in several Australian museums. 

 The additional new records are as follows (none of 

 these are included in the maps, tables, or any por- 

 tion of the main body of this paper) : 



NeoergasUii-'t sp. (probably new) from X. can- 

 cila, Madras, India. 



Ergasihts colens from S. strongylura, Arnhem 

 Land, Australia. 



Ergasilus seinicohus from S. krefff)} from 

 Flinders River, Queensland, Australia. 



Parahomolochus beUones from Lhotskia gavi- 

 aloides (2 collections), New South Wales: S. 

 strongylura, Gulf of Carpentaria and Onslow, 

 Australia: S. leiura, Gulf of Carpentaria: A. 

 h/'aius. Port Ste\'ens, Ncav South Wales, Australia. 



Nof/iobomolochm digifafm from S. strongylura, 

 (Onslow, Gulf of Carpentaria, Northern Territory 

 (all Australia); Bombay, India. 



Caligodes lariniafi/s from L. garialoides (2 col- 

 lections), New South Wales: ^S*. leiwa. Gulf of 

 Carpentaria: T. crocodihis (5 collections), Percy 

 Is. and Hayman Is., Queensland; Murray Is., 

 Torres Strait ; Gulf of Carpentaria ; Tonga Is. 



Lern/inthropus fyl-osurl from >S'. leiura. Gulf of 

 Carpentaria {2 collections) and Queensland; S. 

 sfrongylnra, Bombay, India ; 7\ crocodihis, Tonga 

 Is. 



LITERATURE CITED 



Bebe, Ruby. 



1936. Parasitic co[>epods from Gulf of Mexico flsh. 

 Amer. Midland Natur. 17 : 577-625. 

 Brian, Alessandro. 



1902. Note .su alcuni Crostacei parasslti del pescl 

 del Mediterraneo. Atti. .Soc. Ligure Sci. Natur. 

 Geogr. 13 : 30-45. 

 1906. Copepodi parassiti dei pesci d'ltalia. Printed 

 by author. G4nova, 187 pp. 



430 



U.S. FISH AND WILDIilFR SERVICE 



