cirolana's Identifications

SPECIES: Monogram Isopod,[1] Rocinella signata Schioedte and Meinert, 1879[2]
DATE, TIME: 6 July 2023, 9:44 AM
LOCALITY: Dry Tortogas, Florida USA
LATITUDE, LONGITUDE: 24.628397, -82.872851
REMARKS: Since oridgen10 iNaturalist #171482926 did not identify or report this isopod, we will do so from the photograph.
NEW HOST: Neon Goby,[3] Elacatinus oceanops Jordan, 1904[2]
NEW ATTACHMENT POSITION: The Monogram Isopod usually attaches in the gills of medium-sized to large fishes. Rarely, it attaches externally and even more rarely on small fishes. The upper lobe of the caudal fin is a new location.
DAMAGE: Sometimes harms aquaculture fishes. They rarely bite and try to feed off humans. We have seen 3 cases (unpubl. data). In one occasion off Colombia they attacked scuba divers in a mass swarm (Garzon-Ferreira, 1990). iNaturalist #115654586, dylancreatures, Historic Virginia Key Beach Park, Miami, FL, US; Lat, Long: 25.734559, -80.156863. Bit and chased by a Monogram Isopod (Fig. 2).
IMPORTANCE: New Host, New Locality, and New Attachment Position Records for the Monogram Isopod. Attack humans.
OBSERVERS: Dr. Ernest H. Williams, Jr.,[4,5,7,8] and Dr. Lucy Bunkley-Williams[4,6,7,9]
REFERENCES:
<>Bunkley-Williams, L. and E. H. Williams, Jr. 1998. Isopods associated with fishes: a synopsis and corrections. Journal of Parasitology 84: 893-896.
<>Bunkley-Williams L., E. H. Williams, Jr. and A. K. M. Bashirullah. 2006. Isopods (Isopoda: Aegidae, Cymothoidae, Gnathiidae) associated with Venezuelan marine fishes (Elasmobranchii, Actinopterygii). 54: 175-188.
<>Garzon-Ferreira, J. (1990): An isopod, Rocinela signata (Crustacea: Isopoda: Aegidae), that attacks humans. Bulletin of Marine Sciences 46: 813-815.
<>Williams, E. H., Jr., L. Bunkley-Williams, and M. J. Dowgiallo. 2009. Consistent attachment by the Monogram Isopod, Rocinela signata (Isopoda: Aegidae)on the Bluestriped Grunt, Haemulon sciurus at Carrie Bow Cay, Belize and a Host List. Caribbean Coral Reef Ecosystems, National Museum of Natural History, CCRE Reports, 31-32.
<>Williams, E. H., Jr. and L. Bunkley-Williams. 2024a. Goby Copepod (New Common Name), Pharodes tortugenus Wilson, reproducing in a public aquarium, relatively host-specific to gobies, and New Host on Neon Gobies, Elacatinus oceanops Jordan, at the Mote Marine Lab Aquarium. Research Quality Report, iNaturalist #200402799, 23 February (open access) [926] ResearchGate
<>Williams, E. H., Jr. and L. Bunkley-Williams. 2024b. New Host, Locality, and Attachment Position for Monogram Isopod, Rocinella signata Schioedte and Meinert, 1879, that attacks humans, and with common name accepted. Research Quality Report, iNaturalist #???, 28 February (open access) [928] ResearchGate.
FOOTNOTES:
[1]Our Common Name refers to the “M” on its tail. Seems to have generally been accepted. [2]Identification was peer-reviewed, text edited and sometimes condensed. The entire, original text is in our available reprint 928. [3]Confusingly, “Neon Goby” is a species and “neon gobies” represent a genus (Pharodes). [4]Extraordinary Professors, Potchefstroom Campus, North-West University, South Africa; Adjunct Professors, Research Field Station, Florida Gulf Coast University, 5164 Bonita Beach Road, Bonita Springs, FL 34134; [5]Dept. Marine Sciences, University of Puerto Rico (retired); [6]Dept. Biology, UPR (retired); [7]920 St. Andrews Blvd, Naples, FL 34113-8943; [8]e-mail ermest.williams1@upr.edu; ORCID 0000-0003-0913-3013; [9]e-mail lucy.williams1@upr.edu, ORCID 0000-0003-1390-911x.
Figure 1. Monogram Isopod on upper lobe of caudal fin of Neon Goby.
Figure 2. Monogram Isopod on human skin; note “W” shape monogram on tail.

1. Nautilus event log: rest of isopods from snip of Farrea sponge
2. ONC annotation (SeaTube): DESCRIPTION:White glass sponge - Farrea
3. Real-time online science chatroom:
4. Description from live audio recording:

5. SeaTube URL of ROV video and audio: https://dmas.uvic.ca/SeaTube?resourceTypeId=1000&resourceId=23543&diveId=2621&time=2018-07-11
   >>NOTE: please click the link then COPY-PASTE the following timecode to the end of the URL: T17:22:10.000Z

6. Additional details