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Comprehensive Description

provided by Smithsonian Contributions to Zoology
Nerocila (Nerocila) phaiopleura Bleeker, 1857

Nerocila phaiopleura Bleeker, 1857:25–26, pl. 1: fig. 3.

Nerocila phaeopleura Bleeker.—Miers, 1880:467.—Schioedte and Meinert, 1881:13–15, pl. 1: figs. 6, 7.—Gerstaecker, 1882:260.—Nierstrasz, 1915:75, 76, figs. 1, 2; 1918:113, 114, figs. 6, 7; 1931:124.—Barnard, 1925:392; 1936:164, 165, fig. 6a–c.—Chilton, 1926:180, 181, fig. 3a,b.—Monod, 1934:12.—Serène, 1937:69.—Morton, 1974:143 148, pl. 1.—Kensley, 1978:82, fig. 33D.—Bruce, 1982:316318, figs. 1, 4a–c.

MATERIAL.—From Chirocentrus dorab (Forskål): SG, 22 Sep 1981, USNM 191051, 18.4. From Dussumieria acuta (Cuvier and Valenciennes): SG 606 (trawl), 22 Apr 1982, USNM 191056, ovigerous 21.5. From unknown host, SG 610 (seine), 12 Apr 1982, USNM 191053, ovigerous 23.3.

DIAGNOSIS.—Head broadly rounded anteriorly. Antennae 1 widely separated. Pereopods 1–5 with slight swelling on proximal part of extensor margin of dactyl; pereopod 7 with marginal spines. Posteroventral corners of pereonites 1–4 rounded or quadrate, of pereonite 5 quadrate or slightly pointed, of pereonites 6 and 7 pointed but only slightly produced. Coxae broad, produced posteriorly slightly beyond their pereonites. Lateral processes of pleonites 1 and 2 broad, horizontal. Telson round-triangular, slightly wider than long. Uropods with long slender rami; exopod about 1.7 × longer than endopod. Uropod exopods each with dark stripe continued on lateral parts of pleon and posterior pereonites.

DISTRIBUTION.—A widespread species, recorded from Hong Kong (Morton, 1974; Bruce, 1982); Thale Luang (as Talé Sap), a lagoon on the east coast of the Malay Peninsula, Thailand (Chilton, 1926); Gulf of Siam (Monod, 1934, Serène, 1937); from the East Indies at Jakarta, Java (Bleeker, 1857), and the west coast of Sumatra (Nierstrasz, 1918); the Bay of Bengal (Barnard, 1936); and the coast of Natal, South Africa (Barnard, 1925). The Kuwait specimens extend the known distribution greatly.

HOSTS.—“Spratelle kowale” and “Spratelle tembang” (Bleeker, 1857) (probably species of Spratelloides); Chirocentrus dorab (Forskål) (Barnard, 1925); Dusssumieria acuta Cuvier and Valenciennes (Monod, 1934); Xiphias gladius Linnaeus (Barnard, 1936); Sardinella gibbosa (Bleeker), S. perforata (Cantor), Dussumieria hasselti Bleeker, and Decapterus maruadsi (Temminck and Schlegel), (Morton, 1974); Sardinella zunasi (Bleeker) (Bruce, 1982).

Note that both of the hosts in Kuwait have been reported previously as hosts of N.phaiopleura.

Morton (1974) found a constant position for N. phaiopleura on 4 host species of fishes at Hong Kong. The isopod was always found on the posterior third of the body, overlying the lateral line and facing the head of the fish. This position makes accessible the streak of red muscle underlying the lateral line, which contains much fat and myoglobin. It also allows the isopod's abdomen to be raised for pleopod ventilation without risking dislodgement when the fish's tail beats sideways. In contrast, when infesting Dussumieria acuta at Kuwait, N. phaiopleura was attached behind the operculum and above the pectoral fin.

ETYMOLOGY.—The specific name is derived from the Greek phaios (dusky) plus pleura (side) and refers to the 2 lateral stripes. Bleeker (1857) headed his description with the vernacular “Nérocile à flancs bruns.” The correct latinization would have been phaeopleura rather than Bleeker's phaiopleura, and the former has been used by all authors subsequent to Bleeker. However, ICZN Article 32(a) states that improper latinization is not an inadvertent error, hence phaiopleura is the correct original spelling and must be used for this species.

The remaining species of Nerocila considered in this report are characterized by the serrate margin of the uropodal endopod. A key to these species is given below.
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bibliographic citation
Bowman, Thomas E. and Tareen, I. U. 1983. "Cymothoidae from fishes of Kuwait Arabian Gulf (Crustacea: Isopoda)." Smithsonian Contributions to Zoology. 1-30. https://doi.org/10.5479/si.00810282.382