''Peniculisa'' is a genus of marine

parasitic Parasitism is a close relationship between species, where one organism, the parasite, lives on or inside another organism, the host, causing it some harm, and is adapted structurally to this way of life. The entomologist E. O. Wilson has c ...

copepod Copepods (; meaning "oar-feet") are a group of small crustaceans found in nearly every freshwater and saltwater habitat (ecology), habitat. Some species are planktonic (inhabiting sea waters), some are benthos, benthic (living on the ocean floor) ...

s in the family

Pennellidae Pennellidae is a family of parasitic copepods. When anchored on a host, they have a portion of the body on the outside of the host, whereas the remaining anterior part of the parasite is hidden inside tissues of the host. Genera There are 24 ge ...

Biology

Organisms from this genus are often found attached to the bodies and fins of fishes in the South Pacific and

Indian Indian or Indians may refer to: Peoples South Asia * Indian people, people of Indian nationality, or people who have an Indian ancestor ** Non-resident Indian, a citizen of India who has temporarily emigrated to another country * South Asia ...

oceans. Individual fishes have been reported to harbor hundreds of ''Peniculisa wilsoni'' parasites. Infection intensity is rarely cited for other ''Peniculisa'' species. ''Peniculisa'' parasitic infections tend to be limited to

tetraodontiform The Tetraodontiformes are an order of highly derived ray-finned fish, also called the Plectognathi. Sometimes these are classified as a suborder of the order Perciformes. The Tetraodontiformes are represented by 10 extant families and at least ...

and

pomacentrid Pomacentridae is a family of ray-finned fish, comprising the damselfishes and clownfishes. This family were formerly placed in the order Perciformes but are now regarded as being ''incertae sedis'' in the subseries Ovalentaria in the clade Perc ...

fishes.

Taxonomy

There are nine recognized species of ''Peniculisa'': *''Peniculisa bellwoodi'' Boxshall, 1989 – parasite of '' Pomacentrus amboinensis'' *''Peniculisa bicaudata'' Shiino, 1956 *''Peniculisa crassa'' Uyeno & Nagasawa, 2010 – parasite of ''

Lactoria fornasini The thornback cowfish (''Lactoria fornasini''), is a poisonous species of boxfish found throughout the tropical Indo-Pacific from East Africa to the Bass Islands (French Polynesia). It can grow to a maximum length of . It is an uncommon fish th ...

'' *''Peniculisa elongata'' Uyeno & Nagasawa, 2010 – parasite of ''

Ostracion cubicus ''Ostracion'' is a genus of the boxfish family Ostraciidae. Fish in the genus are known as box puffers. It was first described by Carl Linnaeus in 1758 and makes a brief appearance in Jules Verne's maritime sci-fi novel Twenty Thousand Leagues U ...

'' *''Peniculisa furcata'' Krøyer, 1863 – parasite of '' Paramonacanthus barnardi'' *''Peniculisa ohirugi'' Uyeno & Nagasawa, 2010 – parasite of ''

Pomacentrus nagasakiensis ''Pomacentrus'' is a genus of Ocean, marine damselfish in the Family (biology), family Pomacentridae. These fish inhabit tropical locations and are often captured or bred as aquarium fish. Species There are currently 76 re ...

'' *''Peniculisa shiinoi'' Izawa, 1965 – parasite of '' Canthigaster rivulata'' *''Peniculisa uchinah'' Uyeno & Nagasawa, 2010 – parasite of '' Sufflamen fraenatum'', ''

Balistoides conspicillum The clown triggerfish (''Balistoides conspicillum''), also known as the bigspotted triggerfish, is a demersal marine fish belonging to the family Balistidae, or commonly called triggerfish. Description The clown triggerfish is a fish which gro ...

'', '' Rhinecanthus aculeatus'', '' Sufflamen bursa'', '' Sufflamen chrysopterum'' and '' Pervagor melanocephalus'' *''Peniculisa wilsoni'' Radhakrishnan, 1977 – parasite of ''

Diodon hystrix Porcupinefishes or balloonfishes, are any of the various species of the genus ''Diodon'', the type genus of Diodontidae. Distinguishing features Fish of the genus ''Diodon'' have: * two-rooted, movable spines (which are derived from modified s ...

'', ''

Arothron immaculatus ''Arothron immaculatus'', the immaculate puffer or yellow-eyed puffer, is a pale greyish to brownish pufferfish from the Indo-West Pacific. It is a species of marine fish in the family Tetraodontidae. Description The immaculate puffer is a puff ...

'', ''

Arothron hispidus The white-spotted puffer fish (''Arothron hispidus'') is a medium to large-sized puffer fish, it can reach 50 cm length. It is light grey in color, or greyish or yellowish, and clearly covered with more or less regular white points, that b ...

'' and ''

Diodon holocanthus Porcupinefishes or balloonfishes, are any of the various species of the genus ''Diodon'', the type genus of Diodontidae. Distinguishing features Fish of the genus ''Diodon'' have: * two-rooted, movable spines (which are derived from modified s ...

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q18588951 Siphonostomatoida Copepod genera Animal parasites of fish