The Fauna of Parasitic Barnacles (Cirripedia: Rhizocephala) in Korea

Rhizocephala is a group of endoparasitic barnacles whose morphological characteristics were degenerated, and molecular identification has been actively conducted recently. Despite several recent studies of Korean rhizocephalans, a comprehensive analysis of Rhzicephalan fauna has not yet been investigated. In this study, we conducted morphological and molecular analyses of 64 rhizocephalan samples from 15 decapod hosts sampled across the Korean coast. We found 16 Rhizocephala species of six genera from four Rhizocephala families, i.e., Peltogasterellidae, Peltogastridae, Polyascidae, and Sacculinidae. Combining morphological examination and molecular analysis of mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase I revealed three new species candidates, i.e., Peltogasterella sp., Peltogaster sp., and Parasacculina sp. 1, and three rhizocephalans, i.e., Parasacculina oblonga, Sacculina angulate, and Sacculina gracillis, whose expanded their distribution range to Korean coast. A synthetic update of Korean Rhizocephala fauna including species checklist, distribution, and taxonomic remarks is also presented.