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First records of Gastrotricha from South Africa, with description of a new species of Halichaetonotus (Chaetonotida, Chaetonotidae).

ABSTRACT: During a survey of the biota of the St. Lucia Estuary in the iSimangaliso Wetland Park, South Africa, a number of Gastrotricha were found among samples of meiofauna. Fresh, marine sediment yielded several specimens belonging to a total of seven species. Of these, two are already known from other regions (i.e., Dactylopodola australiensis and Heteroxenotrichula squamosa), one is described as new to science (Halichaetonotus sanctaeluciae sp. n.), while the remaining four (Pseudostomella sp., Halichaetonotus sp.1, Halichaetonotus sp. 2, Xenotrichula sp.) require further collections and analysis, in order to establish the extent of their affiliation to species already described. General appearance, shape of hydrofoil scale and the occurrence of three long spines on the dorsal side make the new species most closely related to Halichaetonotus australis and Halichaetonotus marivagus. The key differences from these taxa and between Halichaetonotus sanctaeluciae sp. n. and Halichaetonotus aculifer are discussed.

SUBMITTER: Todaro MA

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3208527 | biostudies-literature | 2011

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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First records of Gastrotricha from South Africa, with description of a new species of Halichaetonotus (Chaetonotida, Chaetonotidae).

Todaro M Antonio MA Zotto Matteo Dal MD Bownes Sarah J SJ Perissinotto Renzo R

ZooKeys 20111031 142

During a survey of the biota of the St. Lucia Estuary in the iSimangaliso Wetland Park, South Africa, a number of Gastrotricha were found among samples of meiofauna. Fresh, marine sediment yielded several specimens belonging to a total of seven species. Of these, two are already known from other regions (i.e., Dactylopodola australiensis and Heteroxenotrichula squamosa), one is described as new to science (Halichaetonotus sanctaeluciae sp. n.), while the remaining four (Pseudostomella sp., Halic ...[more]

PMID: 22144860

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Project description:BackgroundAfrican catfishes of the families Bagridae and Clariidae are known to be parasitized with monogeneans of Quadriacanthus Paperna, 1961 (Dactylogyridae). The genus remains taxonomically challenging due to its speciose nature and relatively wide host range representing two fish orders, i.e. Siluriformes and Osteoglossiformes, in Africa and Asia. Here, we investigated diversity of Quadriacanthus spp. parasitizing Clarias gariepinus (Burchell), Heterobranchus bidorsalis Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire, and Bagrus docmak (Forsskål) collected in the Lake Turkana (Kenya) and Nile River Basin (Sudan). The interspecific relationships among Quadriacanthus spp. parasitizing catfishes inferred from ribosomal DNA sequences were investigated for the first time.MethodsA combined morphological and molecular approach was used for description of the new species and for a critical review of the previously described Quadriacanthus spp., by means of phase contrast microscopic examination of sclerotized structures, and assessing the genetic divergence among the species found using rDNA sequences.ResultsSeven species (including four new) of Quadriacanthus were identified. These were as follows: 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 (Clariidae); Quadriacanthus mandibulatus n. sp. from Heterobranchus bidorsalis (Clariidae); and Quadriacanthus bagrae Paperna, 1979 from Bagrus docmak (Bagridae). 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 copulatory tube is terminally enlarged in Q. mandibulatus n. sp., while the tube in all other congeners studied is comparatively small and with an oblique tapering termination.ConclusionsThis study contributes to a better understanding of African dactylogyrid diversity and provides the first molecular characterization of Quadriacanthus spp. 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. Our records extend the currently known geographical range for Quadriacanthus spp. to Kenya and Sudan.

Dataset Information

First records of Gastrotricha from South Africa, with description of a new species of Halichaetonotus (Chaetonotida, Chaetonotidae).

Publications

First records of Gastrotricha from South Africa, with description of a new species of Halichaetonotus (Chaetonotida, Chaetonotidae).

Similar Datasets

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