Taxonomy and phylogeny of dactylogyrids (Platyhelminthes: Monogenea: Dactylogyridae) parasites of marine
fish in the northern region of Peru
Monophisthocotylea, Bicentenariella, Brotulella, Neotetraonchus, Marine fish, Taxonomy
The present work aims to study the taxonomy and phylogeny of dactylogyrid parasites of
marine fish in the northern region of Peru. Between March 2018 and December 2019,
three species of bony fish were collected with the help of local fishermen:
Pronotogrammus multifasciatus Gill (Serranidae), Brotula clarkae Hubbs, 1944
(Ophidiiformes: Ophidiidae), and Galeichthys peruvianus Lütken, 1874 (Siluriformes:
Ariidae) to study their parasites. The dactylogyrids found were morphologically analyzed
using light microscopy and, in some cases, were genetically analyzed. In the first chapter,
a new genus, Bicentenariella Chero, Cruces, Sáez & Luque, 2022, is proposed, and three
new species, B. claudiae (type species), B. sinuosa, and B. puertopizarroensis, are
described from the gills of P. multifasciatus. Additionally, two species previously
described in the genus Parancylodiscoides Caballero y Caballero & Bravo-Hollis, 1961,
P. peruensis, and P. signiferi, are transferred to Bicentenariella n. g. as B. peruensis and
B. signiferi. In the second chapter, a new genus, Brotulella Cruces, Chero & Luque, 2023,
is proposed based on morphological and molecular data to accommodate two new species
of dactylogyrids, Br. laurafernandae (type species) and Br. luisahelenae, on the gill
filaments of B. clarkae. The species of Brotulella are distinguished from all other
dactylogyrids by the combination of the following characteristics: (1) anchors with a
stocking-shaped sheath associated with the distal end of superficial and deep roots, (2)
tandem gonads, (3) a vas deferens looping around the left intestinal caecum, (4) a distally
twisted male copulatory organ (MCO) with a delicate membranous accessory piece
articulated to the shaft of the MCO, (5) a U-shaped ovary, (6) an almost sigmoid seminal
vesicle, and (7) two prostatic reservoirs with thick muscular walls. In the third chapter,
three new species, two of Neotetraonchus and one of Chauhanellus, are described
infecting the gills of G. peruvianus. The 28S rDNA gene sequences for these species were
provided, and their phylogenetic position was investigated. The species described here
represent the first occurrences of the genera Neotetraonchus and Chauhanellus in Peru.