Systematic Status of Copepods Infecting the Rosy Goatfish (Parupeneus rubescens)

Abstract

Fish represent one of the most important sources of protein. All fish species are vulnerable to great hazards due to infection with various parasitic taxa and other disease agents. The rosy goatfish (Parupeneus rubescens) is one of the most widely distributed and edible species. Little information about the copepod parasites infecting this fish remains. This review included all related published scientific articles in the electronic databases NCBI, ScienceDirect, Saudi digital library and GenBank database. Relevant studies were reviewed through the generic features and molecular analysis of copepods. Parasitologists use many scientific tools to classify copepods and the morphological and morphometric levels are a basic key to identifying copepods. The presence of many copepod species makes it difficult to confirm their taxonomic status. Therefore, scientists focused on the molecular tools to identify each copepod species based on nuclear ribosomal genes as markers to discriminate copepodid species. Scientists can confirm the parasite species’ systematic status by combining fundamental and innovative identification tools.