Quadriacanthus species (Monogenea: Dactylogyridae) parasitizing catfishes (Teleostei: Siluriformes) in Eastern Africa: morphological and molecular characterization
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| Year of publication | 2017 |
| Type | Conference abstract |
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| Citation | |
| Description | Diversity of Quadriacanthus species parasitizing Clarias gariepinus, Heterobranchus bidorsalis (Clariidae) and Bagrus docmak (Bagridae) was investigated in the Lake Turkana (Kenya) and Nile River Basin (Sudan). Both morphological and molecular approaches were used for description of the new species found, and for a critical review of the previously described Quadriacanthus spp. The interspecific relationships among Quadriacanthus spp. infecting the siluriform hosts inferred from ribosomal DNA sequences were investigated for the first time. Seven species (including four new) of Quadriacanthus were identified: Quadriacanthus aegypticus El-Naggar & Serag, 1986, Quadriacanthus clariadis Paperna, 1961, Quadriacanthus fornicatus n. sp., Quadriacanthus pravus n. sp., and Quadriacanthus zuheiri n. sp. from Clarias gariepinus; Quadriacanthus mandibulatus n. sp. from Heterobranchus bidorsalis; and Quadriacanthus bagrae Paperna, 1979 from Bagrus docmak. For both 18S-ITS1 and 28S rDNA regions, Q. clariadis from a clariid fish was found to be most closely related to Q. bagrae from a bagrid host. Quadriacanthus mandibulatus n. sp. was observed to be the most distant species from the others. The separation of Q. mandibulatus n. sp. from the other species corresponds with the different morphology of its copulatory tube. The observed interspecific genetic relationships among Quadriacanthus spp. from clariids and Q. bagrae from a bagrid host suggest a possible host-switching event in the evolutionary history of the genus. |
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