Cymothoa recifea sp. nov. (Isopoda, Cymothoidae) is described from the mouths of Centropomus undecimalis (Bloch, 1792) and Oligoplites palometa (Cuvier, 1832). The fish hosts were caught near Itamaracá and Cabo de Santo Agostinho, State of Pernambuco, Brazil. The new species bears a superficial resemblance to Cymothoa oestrum (Linnaeus, 1793) from which it differs in a number of important respects. In the new species, the basal carinae are large on pereopods 4-7 and usually pointed, whereas in C. oestrum the carinae are small on pereopods 4-6, large on 7 and not pointed. In the new species, only pleopod 1 is simple and 2-5 are provided with pockets and folds. In the other species, pleopods 1-4 are simple and only 5 has folds.
Atlantic Ocean; isopod parasite; parasitic crustacean
