Some comments on the taxonomy of the species of the genus Neogrubea Dillon & Hargis, 1968 (Monogenea: Mazocraeidae) and their synonyms

The genus Asymmetria Suriano, 1975 is considered a junior synonym of Neogrubea. Similarly, the species A. symmetria Suriano, 1975 is considered to be a junior synonym of N. soni Evdokimova, 1969, and A. platensis Rey & Meneses, 1985 and possibly N. stromateae Gibson, 1976 junior synonyms of N. seriolellae Dillon & Hargis, 1968.     

Redescription of Flexophora ophidii Prost & Euzet, 1962 (Monogenea: Diclidophoridae) from Ophidion barbatum (Ophidiidae) off the Algerian coast,Mediterranean Sea

Systematic Parasitology - The diclidophorid Flexophora ophidii Prost & Euzet, 1962, the type- and only species of the genus Flexophora Prost & Euzet, 1962, has never been...     

A new species of Thaumatocotyle (Monogenea: Monocotylidae) from Dasyatis sabina (Myliobatiformes: Dasyatidae) off the coast of South Carolina

Thaumatocotyle roumillati n. sp. is described from specimens collected in the nasal fossae of the Atlantic stingray, Dasyatis sabina (Lesueur) from the southeastern coast of the United States, off South Carolina. Thaumatocotyle roumillati is distinguished from congeners by the size and shape of its penis as well as the presence of a spinelike accessory piece associated with the penis.     

Redescription and molecular characterisation of Allogastrocotyle bivaginalis Nasir & Fuentes Zambrano, 1983 (Monogenea: Gastrocotylidae) from Trachurus picturatus (Bowdich) (Perciformes: Carangidae) off the Algerian coast,Mediterranean Sea

Systematic Parasitology - Allogastrocotyle bivaginalis Nasir & Fuentes Zambrano, 1983, the sole species of Allogastrocotyle Nasir & Fuentes Zambrano, 1983, was described from...     

A new species of Neoheterocotyle Hargis, 1955 (Monogenea: Monocotylidae) from the gills of Pristis clavata Garman (Pristidae) from Darwin,Australia

Neoheterocotyle darwinensis n. sp. is described from between the secondary gill lamellae of the dwarf sawfish Pristis clavata Garman (Pristidae) collected at the mouth of Buffalo Creek near Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia. This is only the second monocotylid species to be described from northern Australia. N. darwinensis is distinguished from the other seven valid species in the genus by the morphology of the hamuli, the dorsal haptoral accessory sclerites and the male copulatory organ. The similarities between N. darwinensis and Nonacotyle pristis Ogawa, 1991 from the gills of the freshwater sawfish Pristis microdon Latham collected in Papua New Guinea are discussed.     

Two new species of the family Mazocraeidae Price, 1936 (Monogenea) on clupeiform fishes from Guangdong,China

This paper reports two new species of the family Mazocraeidae from the Pearl River Estuary and the Xijiang River, China. Mazocraeoides xijiangensis n. sp. is found on the gills of Macrura reevesi (Richardson) and Heteromazocraes hexacanthus n. sp. on the gills of Coilia grayi Richardson. A new species name, Heteromazocraes lingmueni, is given to replace Paramazocraes sp. of Ling (1973).     

Three species of Dendromonocotyle Hargis, 1955 (Monogenea: Monocotylidae) collected from Japanese rays

Systematic Parasitology - Eighteen species of Dendromonocotyle Hargis, 1955 (Monogenea: Monocotylidae) have so far been described from elasmobranchs worldwide. In this paper, two new species are...     

A new genus of the family dictyopharidae (Homoptera) from Argentina

A new monotypical genus with a new species, Phormotegus lenociniosus gen. et sp. n., is described from Argentina. The new genus is closely related to the genera Taosa Distant and Brachytaosa Muir, but differs from them in the reticulate venation of the submacropterous fore wings with outcurved apices and in the unique position of the hind wings projecting laterally from the apices of the fore wings.     

A new genus of African Karniellina (Orthoptera,Tettigoniidae, Conocephalinae,Conocephalini): integrating morphological,molecular and bioacoustical data

Melanoscirtes gen.n. is established within Karniellina. The members of this subtribe are small conocephaline bush crickets, confined to Africa. Melanoscirtes is erected on Phlesirtes kibonotensis, a species restricted to forest clearings and forest edge in the submontane and montane zones of Mt. Kilimanjaro. A subspecies, M. kibonotensis uguenoensis, is described from the North Pare mountains, a mountain range of the Eastern Arc adjacent to Mt. Kilimanjaro. Further species of Melanoscirtes occur on other mountain ranges of the northern branch of the Eastern Arc mountains of northern Tanzania and southern Kenya. The South Pare mountains harbour M. shengenae; the West Usambaras, M. usambarensis, and the Taita Hills, M. taitensis. All species and subspecies of Melanoscirtes exhibit a similar morphology and occupy analogous habitats on the respective mountains. The song patterns for all species found within this genus are very similar, and this, together with evidence from molecular data, suggests that allopatric speciation is the reason for the biogeographic pattern found in this genus. A key for the subspecies and species of Melanoscirtes is provided.     

Phylogeographical pattern of Mazocraeoides gonialosae (Monogenea, Mazocraeidae) on the dotted gizzard shad, Konosirus punctatus, along the coast of China

In the present study, we examined the phylogeographical pattern of the monogenean, Mazocraeoides gonialosae, which parasitises the dotted gizzard shad (Konosirus punctatus) along the coast of China. Fragments of 756 bp of the mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit I gene were sequenced for 147 individuals from seven localities along the coast of China. Phylogenetic analysis revealed no significant genealogical clades of samples corresponding to sampling localities. Analyses of molecular variance and pairwise F_ST suggested a high rate of gene flow and the lack of a predictable genetic structure between different populations of this parasite. Both neutrality tests and mismatch distribution analyses indicated a recent population expansion in M. gonialosae after the last glacial maximum. Gradually decreasing genetic diversity in more northerly populations implied a historical south-to-north expansion of this parasite. Dispersal of eggs and larvae with ocean currents was considered to be associated with the genetic homogeneity of this species. The limited time to accumulate genetic variation after the last glacial maximum may also account in part for the lack of phylogeographical structure in the studied region.     

A new diplectanid (Monogenea) genus and species from the gills of the black snook, Centropomus nigrescens (Perciformes: Centropomidae) of the Pacific coast of Mexico

Cornutohaptor nigrescensi n. sp. (Diplectanidae) is described from the gills of the black snook, Centropomus nigrescens (Perciformes: Centropomidae) from the Pacific coast of Mexico. Cornutohaptor n. gen. is proposed for this new species and is characterized by possessing 2 intestinal ceca terminating blindly; a germarium looping right intestinal cecum; bilobed testis; 2 seminal vesicles; 7 pairs of hooks, each with protruding thumb; a grooved ventral bar and coiled male copulatory organ (MCO); an accessory piece comprising a "baglike structure" with an appendage; dorsal bars associated parallelly to body midline; and no adhesive accessory organs on the haptor. Cornutohaptor differs from all confamilial genera by including species with anchors with straight and deep root longest, hook pair 1 reduced in size, MCO with counterclockwise rings, and by the morphology of the accessory piece. Cornutohaptor nigrescensi most closely resembles species of Murraytrema Price, 1937, Lobotrema Tripathi, 1937, and Murraytrematoides Yamaguti, 1958, because of the absence of squamodiscs or lamellodiscs on the haptor and tegumental scales on the posterior portion of the body. Cornutohaptor differs from these genera in the position and number of haptoral bars (2 bars in Lobotrema spp., dorsal bars transversally associated in Murraytrema and Murraytrematoides spp.) and in having a coiled MCO (copulatory organ is a comparatively straight, poorly sclerotized tube in Murraytrematoides spp.). This is the first diplectanid described from a centropomid along the Pacific coast of Mexico.     

A new genus of xenophyophores (Foraminifera) from Japan Trench: morphological description,molecular phylogeny and elemental analysis

The deep‐sea floor is inhabited by a number of unusual and enigmatic taxa, unknown in shallow waters. These include the xenophyophores, a group of giant protists that construct fragile agglutinated tests. Here, we describe Shinkaiya lindsayi gen. et sp. nov. , a new xenophyophore collected by the submersible Shinkai 6500 at a depth of 5435 m near the Japan Trench. The phylogenetic analysis performed on its complete small‐subunit ribosomal DNA (SSU rDNA) sequence confirms that Sh. lindsayi sp. nov. is a foraminiferan that is closely related to another xenophyophore, Syringammina corbicula Richardson, 2001, and to a monothalamous (single‐chambered) foraminiferan Rhizammina algaeformis Brady, 1879. In terms of morphology, the new genus resembles Syringammina, but its test wall is thicker, softer, and more weakly cemented. Moreover, the SSU rDNA sequences of the two genera are highly divergent. Mass spectra analyses reveal unusually high concentrations of some elements, such as lead, uranium, and mercury. The granellare system (the cytoplasm and the organic sheath that encloses it) is apparently devoid of barite crystals, which are usually abundant as intracellular inclusions in xenophyophores, but is rich in mercury (with 12 times the concentration of mercury found in the surrounding sediment). Fecal pellets retained within a tubular system (stercomare) concentrate heavy metals, including lead and uranium (respectively, two and six times more than that of the sediment). Based on a comparison of the compositions of the agglutinated test wall, the granellare, the stercomare, and the surrounding sediment, we discuss the impact of xenophyophores on their habitat. © 2009 The Linnean Society of London, Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society, 2009, 156 , 455–464.     

Pauciconfibula patagonensis sp. nov. (Monogenea: Microcotylidae) parasitizing the horsefish, Congiopodus peruvianus (Pisces: Congiopodidae), from the Patagonian Shelf, Argentina

Pauciconfibula patagonensis sp. nov. (Monogenea: Microcotylidae), parasite of gill filaments of the horsefish, Congiopodus peruvianus (Congiopodidae) collected in the Patagonian Shelf, Argentina, is described and illustrated. The new species is characterized by having intestinal caeca not confluent and entering into the haptor, vitelline follicles extending from the genital pore to near the posterior portion of haptor, two parallel rows each comprised of 16-20 microcotylid clamps in the haptor, 25-43 testes and a fusiform egg with one very long tangled polar filament. P. patagonensis is the only member of the genus known to parasitize a scorpaeniform host and represents the first record of a representative of this genus in the southern Atlantic Ocean.     

Williamsocoris, a new genus of Schizopteridae (Heteroptera) from Argentina

A new genus and species, Williamsocoris ornatus (Schizopteridae: Hypselosomatinae), is described from Argentina. This is the first record of the subfamily in South America. The particular structures of the rostrum of this new taxon are unique in the family.     

A new zoarcid,lycenchelys aurantiaca, from the pacific coast off northern japan (teleostei: Perciformes)

A new zoarcid fish,Lycenchelys aurantiaca, is described on the basis of 10 specimens (86.3–135.8 mm SL) from depths of 500–700 m along the Pacific coast of northern Honshu, Japan. Although this species resemblesLycenchelys alta andL. squamosa in having a smaller number of vertebrae (85–88) and a rather short body, it is distinguished from them by the following characters: pectoral fin rays 13–16; preoperculomandibular pores 7 (4 mandibular pores+3 preopercular pores); reddish yellow body.     

Hamatopeduncularia Yamaguti, 1953 (Monogenea: Ancylodiscoididae) from catfish off Peninsular Malaysia: Description of two new species and insights on the genus.

Hamatopeduncularia longiangusticirrata sp. nov. and H. petalumvaginata sp. nov. were collected from Arius maculatus and Nemapteryx caelata, respectively from Tanjung Karang, Peninsular Malaysia. Morphological and molecular investigations were carried out to ascertain the identity of the new species. The two new species differ from previously described Hamatopeduncularia species in the morphology of the male and female reproductive organs. Hamatopeduncularia longiangusticirrata sp. nov. possesses a long penis similar to H. elongata, H. longicopulatrix, H. brisbanensis, H. major and H. petalumvaginata sp. nov., but differs in having a thread-like tapering distal end and can be distinguished from H. brisbanensis and H. major in not having an accessory piece. Hamatopeduncularia longiangusticirrata sp. nov. is also unique in having an ornamented penis initial and a vaginal tube surrounded by fine hair-like structures. Hamatopeduncularia petalumvaginata sp. nov. possesses a simple penis without an accessory piece and a petaloid vaginal opening that resembles the arrangement of petals on a flower. Maximum likelihood trees were constructed from partial 28S and 18S rDNA sequences of the two new species and other ancylodiscoidids to reveal a strongly supported monophyletic branch consisting of the two new species for both markers. According to Lim's classification in 1996 of Hamatopeduncularia species penis type, H. petalumvaginata sp. nov. has been classified within the elegans-type and H. longiangusticirrata sp. nov. is proposed as the longiangusticirrata-type.