Characterization of two species of Lepeophtheirus (Copepoda, Caligidae) from flatfishes. Description of Lepeophtheirus europaensis sp. nov.

In the eastern Mediterranean, the copepod Lepeophtheirus thompsoni Baird, 1850, has been reported to infest turbot, brill and flounder. By combining several methods, including enzyme electrophoresis, we show that this species is found only in turbot. By contrast, brill and flounder are infested by a species of Lepeophtheirus that corresponds to no other species reported in the literature. We propose that the species be designated as L. europaensis and we describe the characteristics of the gravid female. This study was extended to the Atlantic populations of flatfishes and includes an investigation of L. pectoralis (Muller, 1776), which infects flounder in the North Sea; we also confirmed the presence of L. thompsoni (Baird, 1850) over the whole geographic range of turbot. Lastly, we discuss the specificity and distribution of these species along the European coasts.