First record of the Gloiopotes huttoni (Thomson, 1890) (Copepoda: Caligidae) parasitic on the swordfish Xiphias gladius along the southeast coast of India.

Parasitic copepods infect a large number of fishes. In particular, the family Caligidae (Crustacea) comprises more than 450 species worldwide, some of which are harmful to cultured and wild fishes. Recently, we found a parasitic copepod on the host swordfish Xiphias gladius (Xiphidae) in the coastal waters of Parangipettai, southeast coast of India. It was identified as Gloiopotes huttoni by its morphological features, and it belongs to the family Caligidae (order Siphonostomatoida). The swordfish was highly infected with about 72 caligids on a single host. Both male and female forms of G. huttoni were colonized on the beak of the swordfish and distributed mostly along the upper and lower jaws of the host, with 42 and 30 copepod parasites, respectively. Most of the copepods were ovigerous, and more females than males were recorded. It is the first record of the occurrence of G. huttoni in India.