Morphological and Phylogenetic Studies of a Copepod Species, Irodes parupenei Ho and Lin (2007), Infecting Parupeneus rubescens in Saudi Arabia

Dammam City is one of the gorgeous coastal areas in the Arabian Gulf of Saudi Arabia. The present study aimed to examine one of the copepod species infecting the rosy goatfish that represents a highly consumed fish species by the local population in the Arabian Gulf. The copepod species isolated from the infected fish specimens belong to the family Taeniacanthidae and was identified as Irodes parupenei Ho and Lin (2007), primarily based on its morphological, morphometric, and ultrastructural characteristics, especially the structures of the dorsal cephalic area, segmentation of the first antenna, the absence of the maxilliped claw in the female specimens, and the setation and spinulation of the legs 2–4 for the adult females are of great significance in the taxonomic identification. The 18S rRNA gene sequence was analyzed to ensure the precise identity and exact taxonomic status of the copepod species. The result showed that this copepod species belong to Taenicanthidae and closely related to Irodes sauridi (gb∣ JF781550.1) in the same taxon. More details on the specificity of the goatfish for Irodes species and identifying these parasitic taxa using molecular analysis are given in the present study.