Clarification of the identity of copepods of the genus Chondracanthus parasitizing Merluccius hubbsi from Argentinean waters.

In an attempt to clarify the number and identity of copepod species of the genus Chondracanthus Delaroche, 1811 parasitizing common hake Merluccius hubbsi Marini, 1933 from Argentinean waters, a total of 4,569 fish were examined. All of the 995 copepods of the genus Chondracanthus collected from hake showed identical morphology and were identified as Chondracanthus australis Ho, 1991. This species was detected on fish longer than 15 cm of total length and showed an increase in both prevalence and mean intensity in relation to the increase in the size of the host. The highest prevalence and mean intensity were 53.55% and 2.51, respectively. According to our results that coincide with those of other investigators, C. australis seem to be the only species of this genus harbored by M. hubbsi from Argentinean waters.