Synopsis of the species of Ceratomyxa Thélohan, 1892 (Myxozoa: Myxosporea: Ceratomyxidae)

A synopsis of the species of Ceratomyxa Thélohan, 1892 (Myxozoa: Myxosporea: Ceratomyxidae), including a total of 147 species, is presented. For each species the relevant morphological and morphometric data are indicated, as well as the site of infection within the host and the original hosts and locality. A diagrammatic illustration of the spores is also provided.     

Synopsis of the species of the genus Henneguya Thélohan, 1892 (Myxozoa: Myxosporea: Myxobolidae

This synopsis of the species of the genus Henneguya (Myxozoa, Myxosporea, Myxobolidae) includes a total of 146 species. Morphometric and morphological (when available) features are indicated for each species. Data related to the hosts are also provided.     

Synopsis of the species of Myxidium Bütschli, 1882 (Myxozoa: Myxosporea: Bivalvulida)

A synopsis of the species of Myxidium Bütschli, 1882 (Myxozoa: Myxosporea: Bivalvulida) is presented. It includes a total of 232 nominal species, whose principal morphological and morphometric characteristics, site of infection within the host, and original hosts and locality are indicated in a tabulated format. A diagrammatic illustration of a spore of most of the species is also provided.     

A checklist of new species of Henneguya Thélohan, 1892 (Myxozoa: Myxosporea, Myxobolidae) described between 2002 and 2012

A checklist of the new species of Henneguya described since 2002 (43 species) is presented. Included are the main features of each species, the type-host, the type-locality and the original references. In addition, accession numbers to sequences in GenBank are indicated whenever possible.     

Morphological and genetic analysis of three new species of Ceratomyxa Thélohan, 1892 (Myxozoa: Myxosporea) from carcharhinid sharks off Australia

Three new species of Ceratomyxa Thélohan, 1892 are described from the gall-bladders of two species of carcharhinid sharks collected off Heron and Lizard Islands on the Great Barrier Reef, Australia. Ceratomyxa carcharhini n. sp. and C. melanopteri n. sp. are described from Carcharhinus melanopterus (Quoy & Gaimard), and Ceratomyxa negaprioni n. sp. is described from Negaprion acutidens (Rüppell). These species are the first ceratomyxids reported from Australian elasmobranchs, and this is the first paper to formally characterise a novel Ceratomyxa species from an elasmobranch using both morphology and small subunit ribosomal DNA sequence data. Maximum parsimony and Bayesian inference analyses of the SSU rDNA dataset revealed that ceratomyxids from elasmobranchs form a sister clade to that of species infecting marine teleosts and Palliatus indecorus Schulman, Kovaleva & Dubina, 1979. Furthermore, the only sequenced freshwater ceratomyxid, Ceratomyxa shasta Noble, 1950, fell outside the overall marine ceratomyxid clade. These data show that Ceratomyxa, as currently recognised, is polyphyletic and ignites discussion on whether Ceratomyxa should be split. However, further taxon sampling, particularly in freshwater systems, is required to establish relevant biological divisions within the genus.     

The genera Ceratomyxa Thélohan, 1892, Leptotheca Thélohan, 1895 and Sphaeromyxa Thélohan, 1892 (Myxosporea: Bivalvulida) in gadid fish of the Northeast Atlantic

The gall-bladders of four species of gadid fish from the North Sea and Norwegian waters were examined for myxosporeans. The host species were cod Gadus morhua L. (350 examined), haddock Melanogrammus aeglefinus (L.) (592 examined), saithe Pollachius virens (L.) (205 examined) and whiting Merlangius merlangus (L.) (368 examined). Four species of myxosporeans are redescribed from these fish. Ceratomyxa arcuata Thélohan, 1892 was the most common species and was found in whiting (42.8%) and cod (0.6%). Leptotheca informis Auerbach, 1910 was found only in whiting (6.5%). L. longipes Auerbach, 1910 was found only in haddock (6.2%). Sphaeromyxa hellandi Auerbach, 1909 was found in haddock (9.1%) and whiting (0.3%). None of the saithe examined, and no cod or haddock from Norwegian waters, was infected with these myxosporeans. All four species appear to have distributions limited to the Northeast Atlantic, with S. hellandi having a more northern distribution than the other three. The validity of reports of C. arcuata, L. informis and L. longipes from outside this area is discussed.     

Synopsis of the species of Myxobolus Bütschli, 1882 (Myxozoa: Myxosporea,Myxobolidae) described between 2005 and 2013

A synopsis of the species of Myxobolus Bütschli, 1882 (Myxozoa, Myxosporea, Myxobolidae) described between 2005 and 2013 is presented, including 112 nominal species. For each species the most important morphological and morphometric features are indicated in tabulated format. Included are also accession numbers for molecular data (when available), site of the infection within the host, features of the vegetative stage, organ infected, etc., plus a full bibliography of the original records for these species.     

Synopsis of the species of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Ceratomyxa</Emphasis> Thélohan, 1892 (Cnidaria,Myxosporea, Ceratomyxidae) described between 2007 and 2017

A synopsis of the species of Ceratomyxa Thélohan, 1892 (Cnidaria, Myxosporea, Ceratomyxidae) described between 2007 and 2017 is presented, including 83 nominal species. For each species, the most important morphological and morphometric features are indicated in tabulated format. Included are also the site of infection within the host, and geographical location, plus a full bibliography of the original records of species. Molecular data (GenBank accession numbers) are also provided whenever possible.     

Synopsis of the species of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Myxobolus</Emphasis> Bütschli, 1882 (Myxozoa: Myxosporea: Myxobolidae)

A synopsis of 744 nominal species of Myxobolus Bütschli, 1882 (Myxozoa, Myxosporea, Myxobolidae) is presented. For each species, the relevant morphometric and morphological data are indicated, as well as the host(s), site(s) of infection within the host and type-locality.     

Relatedness of novel species of Myxidium Bütschli, 1882, Zschokkella Auerbach, 1910 and Ellipsomyxa Køie, 2003 (Myxosporea: Bivalvulida) from the gall bladders of marine fishes (Teleostei) from Australian waters

During a parasitological survey, Myxidium-like spores were identified in the gall bladders of marine fishes from Australian waters. This paper describes four novel species of Ellipsomyxa Køie, 2003, three novel species of Myxidium Bütschli, 1882 and six novel species of Zschokkella Auerbach, 1910 from teleosts from Australian waters using a combination of morphological, biological and molecular characters. Phylogenetic analyses showed a monophyletic relationship of all Ellipsomyxa spp. sequences with Sigmomyxa sphaerica (Thélohan, 1895) and Myxidium queenslandicus Gunter & Adlard, 2008 as sister species to the clade. The validity of genus Sigmomyxa Karlsbakk & Køie, 2012 is discussed. In phylogenetic analyses, the novel species of Myxidium fell within the ‘marine’ clade of Fiala (2006). However, the novel species of Zschokkella fell within the ‘freshwater’ clade of Fiala (2006) and formed a distinct clade with all other sequences of Zschokkella spp. from the gall bladder of marine fish and a sequence of a species of Myxobolus Bütschli 1882, also from the gall bladder of a marine fish. This is the second distinct marine lineage to emerge within the freshwater clade.     

Histological and molecular studies of species of Myxobolus Bütschli, 1882 (Myxozoa: Myxosporea) in the gills of Abramis, Blicca and Vimba spp. (Cyprinidae), with the redescription of M. macrocapsularis Reuss, 1906 and M. bliccae Donec & Tozyyakova, 1984

Although Myxobolus spp. from cyprinid fishes are generally characterised by a strict host-specificity, this study has found that the breams Abramis brama (L.), Blicca bjoerkna (L.) and Vimba vimba (L.) may be infected by the same Myxobolus spp. It is demonstrated that M. macrocapsularis Reuss, 1906, a parasite of the gill filaments of B. bjoerkna, can also infect A. brama. In the same way, M. bliccae Donec & Tozyyakova, 1984, also a parasite of B. bjoerkna, can also occur in V. vimba. The molecular sequences of M. macrocapsularis spores from B. bjoerkna and A. brama were 100% identical. Two of the 18S rDNA sequences of three replicate samples of M. bliccae from B. bjoerkna were 100% identical, whereas the third sequence exhibited a 99.7% similarity with sequences from V. vimba. M. bliccae sequences of spores collected from V. vimba showed a 99.8% similarity to the first two isolates and 99.6% to the third. Data obtained by morphological, histological and molecular biological methods all suggest that Myxobolus spp., known for their strict host-specificity, may sometimes infect several closely related cyprinids.     

A synopsis of the species of Myxobolus Bütschli, 1882 (Myxozoa: Bivalvulida) parasitising Indian fishes and a revised dichotomous key to myxosporean genera

A synopsis of 131 nominal species of Myxobolus Bütschli, 1882 (Myxozoa: Myxosporea: Myxobolidae) reported from India is presented. For each species, the relevant morphometric and morphological data are indicated, as well as the host(s), site(s) of infection within the host and locality data. A revised dichotomous key of 59 genera of the class Myxosporea has also been included. This key incorporates 10 additional genera to that proposed in 1991 by Lom & Dyková.     

A new species of Glugea Thélohan, 1891 in the red sea bream Pagrus major (Temminck & Schlegel) (Teleostei: Sparidae) from China

A new microsporidian species is described from farmed red sea bream Pagrus major (Temminck & Schlegel) (Teleostei: Sparidae). Large numbers of spherical whitish xenomas were observed throughout the visceral organs of the host. Histological examination showed that the microsporidia caused several xenomas that were embedded in the intestinal muscularis externa or submucosa. Light and transmission electron microscopy examination of the spores also revealed morphological features typical of species of Glugea Thélohan, 1891. This microsporidian parasite has two different types of mature spores: microspores and macrospores. The spores are elongate-ovoid, with a large posterior vacuole. The polaroplast is bi-partite, with anterior and posterior parts comprising densely packed lamellae and loose membranes, respectively, and occupies approximately the anterior half of the spore. The polar filament is anisofilar, with 12–13 coils in a single layer almost touching the posterior spore wall. Comparison of the small subunit rDNA sequences revealed 92.7–98.1% identity with the sequences available from other Glugea spp. from piscine hosts. Phylogenetic analysis demonstrated that the microsporidian species studied clustered within the Glugea clade with strong support. Based on the differences in the morphological characteristics and molecular data, the microsporidian infecting P. major is considered to represent a species new to science, Glugea pagri n. sp.     

Two novel myxosporean parasite species of Ceratomyxa Thélohan, 1892 from the banded cusk-eel Raneya brasiliensis (Kaup) (Ophidiiformes: Ophidiidae) off Patagonia,Argentina

We described two novel myxozoan parasite species Ceratomyxa argentina n. sp. and Ceratomyxa raneyae n. sp. from the gall bladder of Raneya brasiliensis (Kaup) from the Patagonian coast of Argentina. Both species can be distinguished from other ceratomyxids by myxospore and polar capsule (nematocyst) morphology and morphometry, fish host and geographic locality. Phylogenetic reconstruction using ssrDNA gene sequences showed that the two new species are placed in a long-branching ceratomyxid clade which also include Ceratomyxa appendiculata Thélohan, 1892, Ceratomyxa anko Freeman, Yokoyama and Ogawa, 2008, Ceratomyxa pantherini Gunter, Burger and Adlard, 2010 and Pseudoalataspora kovalevae Kalavati, MacKenzie, Collins, Hemmingsen and Brickle, 2013. This study documents additional biodiversity of marine myxozoans in the South Atlantic, a region still largely unexplored for this group of parasitic cnidarians.     

Comparative study (AFLP and morphology) of three species of Prosopis of the Section Algarobia: P. juliflora, P. pallida, and P. limensis. Evidence for resolution of the “P. pallida–P. juliflora complex”

The problems of delimitation of species of Prosopis originate from the few morphological discontinuities which exist among some of them; some, however, originated as a result of wide distribution of germplasm without proper knowledge of the species, in particular, much material catalogued as P. juliflora, but being of other species, was distributed for reforestation projects worldwide. This work tests the morphological results obtained for P. pallida and P. limensis of the Peruvian–Ecuadorian coast and for P. juliflora of the Caribbean Basin of Colombia and Venezuela utilizing a study of AFLPs and a study of the morphology of plantlets developed in a conventional garden study. The phenogram obtained for the AFLPs demonstrates each of the three species to be a well differentiated cluster and the molecular variance between them is significantly greater than the variance within each species. Study of the plantlets also indicates statistically significant differences for four morphological characters between P. juliflora and the other two species (P. pallida and P. limensis). These results, in addition to the morphological differentiation evident between adult plants of P. pallida and P. limensis and the clear separation of these two species from P. juliflora, corroborate the genetic identity of the three taxa analyzed.     

Seven new species of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Ceratomyxa</Emphasis> Thélohan, 1892 (Myxozoa) from the gall-bladders of serranid fishes from the Great Barrier Reef,Australia

Ceratomyxa spp. from the gall-bladder of five members of the family Serranidae were examined for their taxonomic identity. This paper describes seven new ceratomyxid species, i.e. C. brayi n. sp. and C. whippsi n. sp from Cephalopholis boenak (Bloch); C. cutmorei n. sp. from Epinephelus fasciatus (Forsskål); C. gleesoni n. sp. from Plectropomus leopardus (Lacépède); C. hooperi n. sp. and C. nolani n. sp. from E. quoyanus (Valenciennes); and C. yokoyamai n. sp. from E. maculatus (Bloch). Each species is characterised morphologically and small subunit (SSU) rDNA sequences. All seven new species have so far been found in only a single host species.     

A new tetraphyllidean genus and species, Caulopaterapagei n. g., n. sp. (Tetraphyllidea: Phyllobothriidae), from the grey carpetshark Chiloscyllium punctatum Müller & Henle (Orectolobiformes: Hemiscylliidae)

A new genus and species of tetraphyllidean cestode, Caulopatera pagei n. g., n. sp., is described from the grey carpetshark Chiloscyllium punctatum Müller & Henle in Moreton Bay, Australia. The new genus is placed in the Phyllobothriidae, subfamily Phyllobothriinae. Caulopatera n. g. is distinct from all other phyllobothriine genera in having stalked, circular, non-loculate bothridia that lack an apical sucker, testes that are restricted to the region anterior to the cirrus-sac and circum-medullary vitelline follicles. The new genus most closely resembles Carpobothrium Shipley & Hornell, 1906, with which it shares non-loculate, stalked, unhooked bothridia without an accessory sucker and testes that are entirely anterior to the cirrus-sac, but differs from it in that it lacks a slit-like opening in each bothridium and flaps surrounding the opening. The possession of bothridial stalks is consistent with two cestode orders, the Tetraphyllidea and the Rhinebothriidea. The morphology of the bothridial stalks is consistent with other tetraphyllidean genera, in that Caulopatera possesses triangular bothridial stalks surrounding the back of the bothridia, indicating that it belongs in the Tetraphyllidea senso stricto, rather than in the recently recognised Rhinebothriidea.     

Unfortunate encounters? Novel interactions of native Mecyclothorax, alien Trechus obtusus (Coleoptera: Carabidae), and Argentine ant (Linepithema humile, Hymenoptera: Formicidae) across a Hawaiian landscape

The Hawaiian Islands support a speciose radiation of native Mecyclothorax beetles (Coleoptera: Carabidae). This lineage has undergone a classical island radiation resulting in extensive ecological specialization, flight-wing loss, and 100% single-island endemism. We report on the sympatric occurrence of several Mecyclothorax species endemic to Haleakala volcano, East Maui with the newly arrived, adventive Trechus obtusus (Coleoptera: Carabidae), a tramp species originally from Europe. Arrival of T. obtusus in afforested, non-native gymnosperm plantation forest near Polipoli, Maui was associated with subsequent decreased abundance of native Mecyclothorax beetles. Since discovery of T. obtusus on Haleakala, their populations have been transformed through subsequent increase in frequency of brachypterous individuals. Consequences of this transformation to flight-wing dimorphic populations may simultaneously include enhanced reproductive capacity of brachypterous individuals, increased local adaptation of populations, and enhanced metapopulational dynamics ultimately permitting range expansion and occupation far beyond anything observed for the monomorphically brachypterous native Mecyclothorax. Trechus obtusus and several Mecyclothorax species occur sympatrically with Argentine ant, Linepithema humile (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) in subalpine shrublands on Haleakala. Recent sampling corroborates earlier findings that localized presence of Argentine ant is associated with significantly decreased abundance of native Mecyclothorax. Conversely, abundance of the continental T. obtusus is not significantly affected by ant presence.