Choniomyzon inflatus n. sp. (Crustacea: Copepoda: Nicothoidae) associated with Ibacus novemdentatus (Crustacea: Decapoda: Scyllaridae) from Japanese waters.

A new species of parasitic copepod, Choniomyzon inflatus n. sp., is described based on specimens collected from the external egg masses of the smooth fan lobster Ibacus novemdentatus Gibbes captured in the North Pacific Ocean off Ainan, Ehime Prefecture, western Japan. The new species differs from its congeners in having a globular to ovoid prosome, in bearing asymmetrically arranged denticles at a rounded apex of both the terminal segment of the antenna and the maxilliped, and in lacking serrate lobes on the basis of legs 1 and 2. The species is similar in size and shape to the host's eggs, which may be interpreted as egg mimicry. The new species is the first member of Choniomyzon Pillai, 1962 from subtropical regions.