''Ceratothoa'' is a genus of

isopod Isopoda is an order of crustaceans that includes woodlice and their relatives. Isopods live in the sea, in fresh water, or on land. All have rigid, segmented exoskeletons, two pairs of antennae, seven pairs of jointed limbs on the thorax, an ...

ectoparasites of teleost fish, first described by James Dwight Dana in 1852. Infection by ''Ceratothoa'' can cause anaemia, lesions, growth retardation, emaciation, and mortality in their fish hosts.

Species

Currently, 26 valid species in this genus are recognized: ''C. carinata'' and ''C. oxyrrhynchaena'' were redescribed in 2013, and ''C. angulata'', ''C. capri'', ''C. carinata'', ''C. collaris'', ''C. gilberti'', ''C. gobii'', ''C. guttata'', ''C. italica'', ''C. oestroides'', and ''C. verrucosa'' in 2016. A number of taxa are ''

species inquirenda In biological classification, a ''species inquirenda'' is a species of doubtful identity requiring further investigation. The use of the term in English-language biological literature dates back to at least the early nineteenth century. The term ...

e'': * ''Ceratothoa contracta'' (Miers, 1880) * ''Ceratothoa deplanata'' Bovallius, 1885 * ''Ceratothoa gaudichaudii'' (H. Milne Edwards, 1840) (previously known as ''Ceratothoa rapax'' Heller, 1865) * ''Ceratothoa novaezelandiae'' Filhol, 1885 * ''Ceratothoa transversa'' (Richardson, 1901) * ''Ceratothoa triglae'' Gourret, 1891

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q4411991 Cymothoida Isopod genera Parasitic crustaceans Taxa named by James Dwight Dana