BOMOLOCHID COPEPODS PARASITIC ON THE EYES OF 

 INDO-WEST PACIFIC CLUPEID FISHES 



Roger Cressey and Hillary Boyle Cressey' 



ABSTRACT 



Three genera of bomolochid copepods (Pumiliopes, Pumiliopsis,Pseudorbitacolax) parasitic on the eyes 

 of Indo-West Pacific clupeid fishes are redefined. Pseudorbitacolax fimbriatus new species is described, 

 Pseudorbitacolax varunae i Bennet) is redescribed, Orbitacolax nudus Cressey and Boyle is transferred 

 to the genns Pseudorbitacolax, Pumiliopsis emarginatus Cressey and Boyle is placed in synonymy with 

 Pumlliopsis sardinellae (Bennet), and Pumiliopes capitulatus Cressey and Boyle is placed in synonymy 

 with Pumiliopes jonesi (Bennet). Included also is a key to the genera of bomolochid copepods parasitic 

 on the eyes of Indo-West Pacific clupeids and scanning electron micrographs of three species. 



In 1973 we described five new bomolochid copepods 

 collected from the eyes of Indo-West Pacific clupeid 

 fishes housed in the Smithsonian (USNM) collec- 

 tions. Since then we have collected more copepods 

 (including one new species) from clupeids in the 

 collections of the Museum of Comparative Zoology 

 at Harvard University (MCZ) and the British 

 Museum (Natural History) (BM). 



Examination of these additional collections 

 (Table 1) enabled us to redescribe the three genera 

 of bomolochids (Pumiliopes, Pumiliopsis, 

 Pseudorbitacolax) parasitic on the eyes of Indo- 

 West Pacific clupeid hosts, to transfer Orbitacolax 

 nudus Cressey and Boyle to the genus Pseudor- 

 bitacolax Pillai, and to place Pumiliopsis emar- 

 ginatus Cressey and Boyle in synonymy with 

 Pumiliopsis sardinellae (Bennet), and to place 

 Pumiliopes capitulatus Cressey and Boyle in 



'Department of Invertebrate Zoology, Smithsonian Institu- 

 tion, Washington, DC 20560. 



Table l. — Indo-West Pacific clupeids and the copepods parasitic 

 on their eyes. 



Manuscript accepted December 1979. 

 fishery BULLETIN: VOL. 78, NO. 3, 1980. 



synonymy with Pumiliopes jonesi (Bennet). This 

 paper also includes scanning electron micro- 

 graphs of some species and a summary of the re- 

 sults of our later collections. 



Key to the Genera of 



Female Bomolochids Parasitic on 



the Eyes of Indo-West Pacific 



Clupeid Fishes 



la. Legs 2-4 exopods 2 -segmented 2 



lb. Legs 2-4 exopods 3-segmented 



Pseudorbitacolax 



2a. Legs 2-4 exopod last segment with 



barbed or serrate spine Pumiliopsis 



2b. Legs 2-4 exopod last segment with smooth, 



clawlike spine Pumiliopes 



Pseudorbitacolax Pillai 1971 



Diagnosis. — Bomolochidae. Female: Body dor- 

 soventrally flattened. Rostrum rounded or 

 bilobed. Abdomen 2- or indistinctly 3-segmented. 

 Caudal rami each with one long, five short setae. 

 First antenna with no modified setae. Last seg- 

 ment of second antenna with few to many hook- 

 lets, four hooked spines, and two setae terminally. 

 Maxilliped claw with no outer accessory process. 

 Legs 1-4 biramous. Leg 1 flattened, rami 

 2-segmented. Rami of legs 2-4 3-segmented, last 

 segment of exopods each with apical barbed or 

 serrate spine. Second endopod segment of leg 2 

 with two inner setae. Second endopod segment of 

 legs 3 and 4 each with one inner seta. 



715 



