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Caligus minimus Otto, 1821 has been known for over two centuries and it is the second oldest of the approximately 275 species of Caligus O. F. Müller, 1985. Despite the numerous records of this species from European waters, it has never been fully described to modern standards. The lack of a comprehensive modern description has resulted in numerous misidentifications, even in recently published reports, and this is especially problematic for a species that is known to have a significant economic impact in aquaculture. This study presents a detailed description of both sexes and documents newly observed features of C. minimus collected from the buccal cavity of farmed European Sea Bass (ESB), Dicentrarchus labrax (Linnaeus, 1758). The morphology of C. minimus was examined using light microscope (LM), scanning electron microscope (SEM), and confocal laser scanning microscope (CLSM), and new details are revealed regarding the structure and ornamentation of the marginal membrane of the cephalothorax, maxilliped, antenna, sternal furca, abdomen, and legs 1, 3, 4, and 6. The ornamentation of the marginal membrane of the cephalothorax is unique and its impact on the functioning of the cephalothoracic sucker requires further investigation. Additionally, partial COI gene region sequences were obtained from four individuals of C. minimus and provided for future references. A phylogenetic analysis was conducted in conjunction with Caligus sequences available in the NCBI GenBank database.

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INTRODUCTION: A new species of the genus Caligus is described based on specimens collected from pompano, Trachinotus ovatus (Linnaeus), caught in eastern Atlantic waters, near the Madeira archipelago. METHODS: Pompano (n = 21) were purchased from the local fish market and examined for parasitic copepods. Morphological features of the copepods were examined and drawn using an Olympus BX51 equipped with a drawing tube. Key diagnostic characters were scanned using a confocal laser scanning microscope and a scanning electron microscope. RESULTS: Caligus madeirensis sp. nov., can be distinguished from all congeners (270 spp.) by the combination of the following characters: (i) an accessory process on the 3 outer terminal spines located on the distal exopodal segment of leg 1, (ii) a mandible with 14 teeth, (iii) a sternal furca with parallel, spatulate tines, (iv) a maxilliped with 2 simple setae at base of a claw, (v) a leg 3 with second endopodal segment with 5 pinnate setae, (vi) a 2-segmented leg 4 exopod with I; III spine formula, (vii) a male antenna with 4 overlapping plates on the distal segment, (viii) a male maxilliped corpus bearing a prominent myxal process ornamented with dense corrugations along inner margin. CONCLUSION: Together with Caligus madeirensis sp. nov., the Caligus fauna of Portugal consists of 13 species reported from 17 Portuguese marine fishes. Considering the large number of marine fish species (510 spp.) currently recorded from Portuguese waters it seems that only 3.3% of the Portuguese marine fishes have been found to be infested with species of the genus Caligus O.F. Müller, 1758, the result of which, however, might be due to limited sampling.

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A new species of parasitic copepod, Caligus tunisiensis n. sp. (Caligidae), is described based on two female specimens collected from the gills of the painted comber, Serranus scriba (L.), caught in the Mediterranean Sea, off the Tunisian coasts. The new species belongs to the Caligus productus-species group established by Boxshall & Gurney (1980) as it shares the following set of character states: (i) antenna with well-developed posterior process on proximal segment; (ii) posterior margin of distal exopodal segment of leg 1 lacking typical plumose setae, or retaining single vestigial seta; and (iii) 2-segmented exopod of leg 4 armed with IV spines on compound distal exopodal segment. Detailed morphological comparisons between the new species and the core members of the C. productus-species group revealed that the new species closely resembles with C. productus Dana, 1852 and C. temnodontis Brian, 1924. However, the new species can be distinguished from its congeners in having: (i) a female maxilliped bearing a prominent bi-lobate myxal process, opposing tip of the claw; (ii) leg 4 protopod ornamented with a patch of spinules on the posterolateral surface; and (iii) an abdomen ornamented with two rows of minute spinules at the posterolateral corners.

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The current status of the caligid copepods parasitic on marine fishes off Turkey is reviewed and an updated checklist comprising a total of 24 species, belonging to three different genera, Caligus O. F. Müller, 1785, Euryphorus H. Milne Edwards, 1840 and Lepeophtheirus von Nordmann, 1832, is presented together with habitus illustrations and a key to all 24 species. Two of the species of caligids listed herein constitute new records for Turkish waters. The first, Caligus quadratus Shiino, 1954, a well-known species of the genus, was collected from the common dolphin fish, Coryphaena hippurus Linnaeus. The second, Caligus scribae Essafi, Cabral & Raibaut, 1984, a very rare and poorly known member of the genus, was sampled from a new teleost host, the parrot fish, Sparisoma cretense (Linnaeus). Both fish species were caught in north-eastern Mediterranean waters off the Turkish coast. Caligus quadratus is only briefly described based on key diagnostic characters whereas a full re-description is provided for C. scribae, as the only description available for this species is incomplete and lacks detail. Sparisoma cretense is a new host record for C. scribae. In addition, this is the first report of C. quadratus from the Mediterranean.

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Lepeophtheirus lichiae Barnard, 1948 (Copepoda: Caligidae), a very rare and poorly known sea louse, is redescribed based on a single newly collected female. The specimen was collected from the dorsal body surface of the leerfish, Lichia amia (Linnaeus) caught in north-eastern Mediterranean waters off the Turkish coast. The original and only available description of L. lichiae was incomplete and with only three illustrations: the dorsal view of the female habitus, the sternal furca, and the postantennal process. Here, we present a full re-description of female of L. lichiae and report it from the Mediterranean Sea for the first time.

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The caligid copepod Caligus lichiae Brian, 1906 is redescribed based on new material collected from the type-host, Lichia amia (Linnaeus), and from a second carangid, Seriola dumerili (Risso), both caught in the Gulf of Iskenderun, Turkey. Key diagnostic characters of both sexes are reported, supported by drawings and scanning electron microscopy images. Despite the commercial importance of its type-host, L. amia, C. lichiae has not been reported since its original description. After detailed comparison with recent descriptions of Caligus aesopus Wilson C. B., 1921, commonly found on S. dumerili, we recognise these two species as conspecific and propose to relegate C. aesopus Wilson C. B., 1921 to a junior subjective synonym of C. lichiae Brian, 1906. Caligus lichiae is a member of the C. confusus group of species and an identification key to species in this group is provided.

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A new species of caligid copepod, Caligus mulli n. sp., is described based on specimens collected from surmullet Mullus surmuletus Linnaeus from Atlantic waters off the Azores, Portugal, and from red mullet Mullus barbatus barbatus (Linnaeus) caught in the Mediterranean Sea, off the south-eastern coast of Turkey. Sixteen specimens (both sexes) were collected from the gill cavity of M. surmuletus, and one female was collected from the gill cavity of M. barbatus barbatus. The new species is described from both fish hosts. Detailed comparisons are presented with two closely related species, C. ocyurus Cressey, 1991 and C. biaculeatus Brian, 1914: the former can be distinguished by differences in shape of the dorsal cephalothoracic shield and postantennal process, while the latter differs in relative size of the distal spines on leg 4 and in the shape of the sternal furca. The new species can easily be distinguished from its congeners by a combination of the following additional characteristics: (1) the corpus of the female maxilliped bears a prominent projection proximally and the myxal area is ornamented with a hyaline flange and two sensillae, and (2) the male maxilliped has a conical proximal projection on the corpus and a bifid myxal process opposing the claw.

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In this study, supplementary information on the morphology of the siphonostomatoid copepod Lepeophtheirus acutus Heller, 1865 is given based on new material collected from the ventral body surface and mouth cavity of common guitarfish, Rhinobatos rhinobatos (Linnaeus) and from the branchial cavity of bull ray, Aetomylaeus bovinus (Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire) caught in Iskenderun Bay, Turkey. This is the first report of L. acutus from Mediterranean waters. Key diagnostic characters of both sexes are reported, supported by light and scanning electron microscopy observations. In addition, Lepeophtheirus rhinobati Luque, Chaves et Cezar, 1998, which is closely related to L. acutus and has been reported from the same host genus, Rhinobatos, is reexamined based on paratypes stored in the collections of the United States National Museum of Natural History. Some of the key diagnostic characters which were incompletely known or lacking in the original description of both sexes of L. rhinobati are redescribed and/or presented for the first time.

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Caligus pagelli Delamare Deboutteville & Nuñes-Ruivo, 1958, a rare and poorly known sea louse, is redescribed based on newly collected specimens of both sexes. The new material was collected from the common pandora Pagellus erythrinus (Linnaeus) caught in western Mediterranean waters off Corsica. The original and only available description of C. pagelli was incomplete and based only on females. Here we redescribe the female in detail, and describe the male for the first time.

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The siphonostomatoid parasitic copepod Caligus macrurus Heller, 1865 is redescribed based on new material collected from the gill filaments and pharynx of tripletail Lobotes surinamensis Bloch (Lobotidae) caught in Iskenderun Bay, Turkey. Key diagnostic characters and newly observed taxonomic features are reported, supported by light and scanning electron microscopy observations. This is the first report of C. macrurus from Mediterranean waters. Caligus macrurus is also recognised as conspecific with the better known Caligus bennetti Causey, 1953, found on the same host, which becomes a junior subjective synonym of C. macrurus. Caligus O.F. Müller, 1785 and Sciaenophilus van Beneden, 1852 have both been treated as valid genera within the family Caligidae although numerous doubts have been expressed over the validity of the latter. The morphological evidence does not support generic level distinction and we recommend the transfer of all species currently placed in Sciaenophilus into Caligus as C. tenuis (van Beneden, 1852), C. pharaonis von Nordmann, 1832, C. nibeae Shen, 1957 and C. macrurus.

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A review of Lernanthropidae (Copepoda: Siphonostomatoida) recorded on marine fish species in the Mediterranean and Turkish seas is presented together with the first records of two species of the genus Lernanthropus de Blainville, 1822 that are new to the Turkish coasts. The newly recorded parasites are: Lernanthropus gisleri van Beneden, 1852 from the gill filaments of Umbrina cirrosa (Linnaeus, 1758) and Lernanthropus callionymicola El-Rashidy & Boxshall, 2012 from the gill filaments of the Red Sea immigrant dragonet Callionymus filamentosus Valenciennes, 1837. General morphology, measurements and key diagnostic characters of both species are presented, based on light and scanning electron microscopy. In addition, some contradictions are noted in previous descriptions of L. gisleri and some newly observed structural details of L. callionymicola are also presented.

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Caligus brevicaudatus Scott, 1901, a common but poorly known species of parasitic copepod, is redescribed from newly collected specimens of both sexes. The new material was collected from the body surface of tub gurnards, Chelidonichthys lucerna (Linnaeus), caught in eastern Mediterranean waters off the Turkish coast. Inadequately described female structures from earlier descriptions are redescribed and illustrated in detail and the male of C. brevicaudatus is described for the first time. The new material of C. brevicaudatus is compared with material collected by A. Scott and stored in the collections of the Natural History Museum, London. In addition, a voucher specimen of Caligus uranoscopi Vaissière, 1955, stored in the collections of the Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle in Paris is re-examined. Caligus uranoscopi is recognised as a junior subjective synonym of C. brevicaudatus since it does not differ in any substantive characters.

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Caligus ligusticus Brian, 1906 (Copepoda: Caligidae), a species of parasitic copepod originally based on females collected from off Genova, Italy, is redescribed based on newly collected specimens of both sexes. The new material was collected from the inner opercular surface of the sand steenbras Lithognathus mormyrus (Linnaeus) caught in eastern Mediterranean waters off the Turkish coast. Inadequately described female structures from earlier descriptions are re-described and illustrated in detail and the male of C. ligusticus is described for the first time. Key diagnostic characters of C. ligusticus are highlighted by scanning electron microscopy observations. A comparative study of the newly collected specimens of C. ligusticus and material collected by A. Brian and stored in the collections of the Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle in Paris, is also presented.

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There is increasing interest in the common sole, Solea solea (Linnaeus), as an alternative fish species in aquaculture in the Mediterranean region, and parasitic copepods are a potential hazard for farmed finfish. This paper provides taxonomic information on two species of sea lice (family Caligidae) collected from S. solea in eastern Mediterranean waters off the Turkish coast. Caligus brevicaudatus A. Scott, 1901 and Caligus apodus (Brian, 1924) were both found and this is the first report of C. brevicaudatus in Turkish waters. The discovery of C. apodus on S. solea is a new host record. Key diagnostic characters of both species are reported, supported by light and scanning electron microscopy observations. During a 12-month survey a prevalence of 28% was recorded for C. brevicaudatus, whereas for C. apodus peak prevalence was much lower (3%).

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In this study, bioaccumulation of the heavy metals (Fe, Zn, Cd) in the liver, gill, gonad and muscle tissues of Dicentrarchus labrax, Mugil cephalus and Sparus aurata were investigated seasonally. Camlik is the important fisheries lagoon located in The Iskenderun Bay, Mediterranean coast of Turkey. Due to heavy industrial and agricultural activities in the region, the bay has the polluted coastal waters of Turkey. Therefore, the levels of cadmium, zinc, iron were determined in the muscle in each species because of its importance for human consumption and also the liver, gill, gonad were analysed since these organs tend to accumulate metals. Heavy metal levels were found generally higher in the liver and gill than the gonad and muscle tissues in three species; the levels of all metals in a given tissue were generally higher in Mugil cephalus than the other two species. Data collected in this study suggest that Camlik lagoon is affected by a relatively metal pollution. The concentrations of Zn concentrations in the muscle tissues exceeded the acceptable levels for a food source for human consumption and other metals in the edible parts of the investigated fish were in the permissible safety levels for human uses.

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