Triloculotrema euzeti n. sp. (Monogenea, Monocotylidae) from the nasal tissues of the blackspotted smooth-hound Mustelus punctulatus (Carcharhiniformes, Triakidae) from off Tunisia.

Abstract

Triloculotrema euzeti n. sp. (Monogenea, Monocotylidae, Merizocotylinae) is described from the nasal tissues of the blackspotted smooth-hound Mustelus punctulatus collected from the coastal marine waters off Tunisia. The new parasite species is distinguished from the other two species of the genus, T. japanicae Kearn, 1993 and T. chisholmae Justine, 2009, by the morphology of the sclerotised male copulatory organ which has longitudinal ridges. The species is also characterised by its oötype with short descending and ascending limbs (long and more convoluted in the other two species). The presence of three peripheral loculi, which is the main characteristic of the genus Triloculotrema Kearn, 1993, is unconfirmed. This is the first description of a species of this genus in the Mediterranean Sea and the first record from a coastal shark.