Two newspecies (Dactylogyridea, Dactylogyridae) parasitising the Peruvian sea catfish(Siluriformes, Ariidae), including molecular data.

Abstract

As part of a parasitological survey, several specimens of two new monopisthocotylean species,sp. nov. andsp. nov. (Dactylogyridea, Dactylogyridae), were collected from the gill filaments of the Peruvian sea catfish(Siluriformes, Ariidae) off Puerto Pizarro, Tumbes region, Peru.sp. nov. is characterised by an MCO with a T-shaped distal end and an accessory piece that is ribbed and expanded proximally with a worm-shaped termination.sp. nov. is typified by its MCO, which has a sledgehammer-shaped distal end and an accessory piece with a claw-shaped distal end. Additionally,sp. nov. is characterised by its jellyfish-shaped onchium. A partial 28S rDNA sequence was obtained fromsp. nov., and a phylogenetic analysis was conducted. This analysis revealed the phylogenetic position ofsp. nov. within a clade comprising monopisthocotylean parasites of diadromous and marine ariid catfishes, includingspp.,spp.,Kritsky, Shameem, Kumari & Krishnaveni, , andLim, 1995. This finding brings the number of knownspecies to seven and represents the first describedspecies infecting marine catfishes from Peru.