# New occurrence of Cirolana capricornica (Isopoda: Cirolanidae) from Epinephelus chlorostigma in Suez Governorate, Egypt

## TL;DR

This paper reports the first occurrence of the isopod Cirolana capricornica on a specific fish species in Egypt's Suez Governorate.

## Contribution

The study documents a new geographical and host record for Cirolana capricornica in Egypt.

## Key findings

- Cirolana capricornica was found on Epinephelus chlorostigma in Suez Governorate, Egypt.
- The isopods were attached externally and internally without causing visible lesions.
- The infestation prevalence was 16% among sampled fish.

## Abstract

The isopods of the Crustacea are noteworthy. All marine, fresh, and brackish waterways at all depths are home to aquatic organisms. This order also includes species that live on land. This study aimed to report a new occurrence of the isopod Cirolana capricornica on the operculum, mouth, and body cavities of Epinephilus chlorostigma in the Suez Governorate, Egypt.

With the help of fishermen, 50 live E. chlorostigma (Linnaeus, 1758) were randomly gathered along the Red Sea coast of the Suez Governorate during November and December 2019 for the current investigation. Isopods were isolated from the fish samples and captured using light and electron microscopy for morphological identification.

Some fish were emaciated, and minute white isopods were attached externally to the skin near the gills and mouth cavity, and internally to the mouth cavity. No correlation was observed between body cavity attachment and gross lesions. The prevalence of infestation was 16%.

C. capricornica was identified using optical and electron microscopy to analyze the isopod specimens’ morphology. This scavenging isopod species is newly discovered in Egypt.