NO- 3600 GLOIOPOTES — CRESSET 9 



maxilla" by Shiino should be called the 1st maxilla, "first maxilliped" 

 as 2nd maxilla, and "second maxilliped" as maxilliped, to be con- 

 sistent with more recent literature. The process referred to as the 

 "first maxilla" is now considered to be the postantennal process. 



The appendages of female and male are generally as in other species 

 of the genus. The sternal furca (fig. 41) with the large posterior 

 process with only a single point rather than bifid as in other species 

 of the genus. 



Male. — Body form as in figure 42. Total length 12.1 mm (11.7- 

 12.5 mm) ; greatest width 4.8 mm (4.2-5.7 mm) based on an average 

 of 6 specimens from 3 collections. 



Remarks. — This species is cosmopolitan in distribution and is 

 restricted to Acanthocybium solandri. Both sexes can be separated 

 easily from the other species of the genus on the basis of the following 

 points: the shape of the dorsal plate of the segment bearing legs 4, 

 the nature of the sternal furca, the dorsal surface of G. hygomianus 

 lacking the spinules and hairs found on the other species, the inner- 

 most distal spine of leg 4 of G. hygomianus being only slightly longer 

 than the other 2 spines (in the other species this spine is nearly twice 

 the length of either of the other 2) . 



Host Specificity 



It has been almost impossible to make positive statements on the 

 relationships between copepods parasitic on fish and their hosts owing 

 to lack of understanding of the systematics and ecology of both 

 groups. It is hoped that revisionary work by systematists in both 

 groups will reveal the relationships that exist between these animals. 

 Large collections of material are desirable and usually necessary for 

 this kind of work. The 94 collections of the genus Gloiopotes forming 

 the basis of this study have brought to light certain features of host 

 specificity heretofore unrecorded. Since the phylogeny and ecology 

 of parasites often reflect that of their hosts, this aspect of the study 

 of parasitic copepods should be a useful tool to the ichthj^ologist. 



For purposes of determining host specificity in the genus Gloiopotes, 

 only those collections seen by the author have been considered. 

 Collections with dubious host names and hterature records have not 

 been used. The genus Gloiopotes apparently is restricted to the 

 Istiophoridae, Xiphidae, and to the scombrid genus Acanthocybium. 

 The exact taxonomic position oi Acanthocybium is in doubt, but studies 

 of larval development of Acanthocybium by Walter Matsumoto (Bu- 

 reau of Commercial Fisheries, Honolulu) suggest affinities between 

 Acanthocybium and billfishes (R. H. Gibbs, pers. comm.). If one 

 accepts the premise that a phylogenetic relationship to billfishes may 



243-626—67 2 



