Leeches of notothenioid fishes in Antarctica: new species discovery and phylogenetic position
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| Year of publication | 2016 |
| Type | Conference abstract |
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| Description | Leeches (Hirudinea) in Antarctica occur in marine habitats. The family Piscicolidae is predominantly a marine group of subclass Hirudinea and its members feed on a variety of fish species. Some members of this family are restricted to the Southern Ocean [1]. Notothenioid fishes (Perciformes; Notothenioidei) is the most dominant Antarctic fish taxon distributed throughout the Southern Ocean and is adapted to low and stable temperatures. Most of the species prefer benthic habitats and some of them including representatives of the genus Trematomus, Pagothenia and Notothenia. In our study, we focused on leeches from notothenioid fishes in Prince Gustav Channel (James Ross Island, Weddell Sea) collected during the Czech Antarctic expedition 2014. We report their species diversity and phylogenetic position in polar areas. In total, 100 specimens of five notothenioid fish (Trematomus bernacchii, T. hansoni, T. eulepidotus, Pagothenia borchgrevinki and Notothenia coriiceps) were examined. Collected leeches were measured and documented by light microscopy as well as scanning electron microscopy. Phylogenetic analyses were performed combining a portion of the nuclear large ribosomal subunit (28S rRNA) gene with mitochondrial nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide dehydrogenase subunit one (ND1) and cytochrome c oxidase subunit one (COI) fragments. The leeches were identified as representatives of four different genera (Fig. 1): Nototheniobde |
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