PROCEEDINGS OF THE CALIFORNIA ACADEMY OF SCIENCES 
Series 4, Volume 65, No. 4, pp. 133-138, 6 figs. 
September 28, 2018 
Redescription of the Holotype of 
Argulus floridensis Meehean, 1940 
(Arthropoda, Crustacea, Argulidae) 
William J. Poly 
Aquatic Biodiversity Research Institute, 11205 Schroeder Road, Saint Marys, OH 45885, USA; 
Department of Ichthyology, California Academy of Sciences, 55 Music Concourse Drive, 
Golden Gate Park, San Francisco, CA 94118, USA; wpoly@calacademy.org 
The holotype male of Argulus floridensis Meehean, 1940 is redescribed and illustrat¬ 
ed in greater detail to provide new morphological and meristic information that will 
aid in identification of other specimens. 
Keywords: Cmstacea, Branchiura, Argulidae, morphology, taxonomy 
Meehean (1940) revised the taxonomy of the Argulus spp. in the National Museum of Natural 
History and included a description of one new species, Argulus floridensis. Only a single male, 
previously identified as A. pugettensis Dana, 1853, was available at the time. Meehean (1940, p. 
489) noted that the specimen was in poor condition; it has continued to deteriorate and now is in 
very poor condition. Both carapace alae have disintegrated, and the posterior respiratory areas can¬ 
not be found now. The left first maxilla is missing. Basal segments of the legs remain intact, and 
the abdomen is in good condition. Illustrations were made of the right second maxilla, left anten¬ 
nae, two rods from the right first maxilla, the abdomen and fleshy lobe at posterior of thorax, and 
the second, third, and fourth legs on the left side, showing the secondary sexual modifications 
(right and left from dorsal view of specimen). Meehean (1940) illustrated the right second and 
fourth legs and the left third leg. My illustrations and observations of the legs generally agree with 
those of Meehean, except for the inclusion of more details and additional features, which will be 
mentioned below, that were not in the original description. 
In his last work on Branchiura and Copepoda, Wilson (1944) included characters of A. floriden¬ 
sis in a key to Argulus spp., but did not add any new details to Meehean’s original description. 
Cressey (1972) included A. floridensis in a key to species, but no additional morphological infor¬ 
mation was provided. In the list of figures, A. floridensis was included under basal plates of second 
maxilla (Cressey 1972, p. viii); however, no illustration for A. floridensis was in that figure. Cressey 
(1972) listed one host, Mugil sp. (mullet), for A. floridensis, but that information is erroneous 
(W. Poly pers. obs.). A thorough redescription of the species must wait until collections are avail¬ 
able that include a good series of males and females. The purpose of this redescription of the holo¬ 
type is to make available new details of the male such that others, who might already possess spec¬ 
imens or who might collect some in the future, will be able to identify them as A. floridensis. 
Materials And Methods 
The holotype was examined as a temporary slide mount (with 70% ethanol and Hoyer’s medi¬ 
um), and drawings were made with the aid of a camera lucida (Poly 2016). 
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