Podocotyle pearsei Manter, 1934 is documented from the intestine of Vaillant’s grenadier, Bathygadus melanobranchus Vaillant (Macrouridae: Bathygadinae), collected from the northeastern and western Gulf of Mexico from 783–841 m depth. The finding of P. pearsei in B. melanobranchus represents the first originally published report of this genus from this host and the fifth documented host species for P. pearsei. We report three unidentified species of Podocotyle, represented by one individual each, from the intestine of the western Atlantic grenadier, Nezumia atlantica (Parr) (Macrouridae: Macrourinae), and from Bathygadus favosus Goode & Bean (Macrouridae: Bathygadinae) found at 637 m, 710 m and 1,143 m depths in the northeastern Gulf of Mexico off Florida and from the Caribbean Sea off Colombia. We provide a checklist of the parasites known from the three macrourid species relevant to this study, comment on the biogeography of the five species of Podocotyle now known from the deep sea and discuss the low host specificity observed across this genus. The high number of fish hosts for Podocotyle (i.e. type hosts include at least 22 piscine families) encompassing a wide phylogenetic diversity and diet makes it unlikely that members of a single genus could evolve such a broad array of life histories (i.e. utilize dissimilar intermediate hosts), and we predict in the future that Podocotyle will be taxonomically divided up. Morphological and especially molecular work is needed for Podocotyle as well as for other digenean genera known to inhabit the deep sea. Podocotyle sp. 1 & 2 represent the first originally published reports of this genus from N. atlantica while Podocotyle sp. 3 represents the first report of this genus from B. favosus. Podocotyle koshari Nagaty, 1973 is declared a species inquirenda, and a dichotomous key to the 27 species of Podocotyle we recognize is provided.
Macrourimegatrema brayi n. gen., n. sp. (Digenea: Opecoelidae: Plagioporinae) is described from the pyloric ceca and intestines of 4 species of bathygadine macrourid fishes collected from deep waters of the Gulf of Mexico and off Colombia and Panama. Macrourimegatrema n. gen. can be distinguished from all other genera in the subfamily by possessing a combination of the following diagnostic characteristics: an atypically large elongate body; a short, distinct forebody separated from a long hindbody by a distinct constriction at the level of the acetabulum; a terminal, funnelshaped oral sucker; nearly equatorial ovary and testes and an unusual tubular excretory vesicle that winds between the 2 tandem testes. Macrourimegatrema n. gen. is most similar to the genus Anabathycreadium, but the former differs in having a smaller body size (6,000 vs 15,500 m); a funnelshaped oral sucker; a slightly protuberant acetabulum; suckers of equal size; an oval pharynx (rather than being ring-shaped); ceca that terminate some distance from the posterior extremity; a smaller cirrus sac that reaches only a short distance postacetabularly (rather than reaching to the level of the ovary); a genital pore that is bifurcal to slightly prebifurcal (rather than being at the posterior margin of the pharynx); numerous, small, follicular vitelline follicles that approach the level of the acetabulum anteriorly (rather than terminating well short of the level of the acetabulum); an ovary that is immediately pretesticular (rather than being far removed anteriorly from the anterior testis) and M. brayi n. gen., n. sp. has an unusual tubular excretory vesicle that winds between the 2 testes. Species of opecoelids are expected to utilize either a crustacean or fish second intermediate host, and the lack of fish reported for the food preferences of members of Bathygadinae studied here suggest that M. brayi n. gen., n. sp. probably infects its host through ingestion of a near-bottom pelagic crustacean. The precedence of using general body morphology of the species or its conformation to the characteristics of the 4 subfamilies of Opecoelidae is discussed.
Two rare species of Podocotyle Dujardin, 1845 (Digenea: Opecoelidae) parasitizing five macrourid species inhabiting the deep waters of the northeastern Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean Sea off Panama are described. Podocotyle nimoyi n. sp. was found in the intestine of the pugnose grenadier, Sphagemacrurus grenadae (Parr), and the common Atlantic grenadier, Nezumia aequalis (Günther) (Gadiformes: Macrouridae), at depths of 534-995 m in the Northeast Gulf of Mexico off Florida and represents the fifth species of Podocotyle endemic to the deep sea. Podocotyle pearsei Manter, 1934, was re-described from the intestine of the bullseye grenadier, Bathygadus macrops Goode & Bean, the doublethread grenadier, Gadomus arcuatus (Goode & Bean), and the western softhead grenadier, Malacocephalus occidentalis Goode & Bean (Gadiformes: Macrouridae), collected from 591-728 m depths in the Northeast Gulf of Mexico off Florida and the Caribbean Sea off Panama. The following new host records are established: P. nimoyi n. sp. is the third parasite species known from S. grenadae and the first digenean species reported from this host; P. nimoyi n. sp. is the first reported species of Podocotyle parasitizing N. aequalis; and this is the first report of P. pearsei or any representative of the genus Podocotyle infecting B. macrops, G. arcuatus and M. occidentalis. A listing of all digenean parasites previously reported from the five macrourid species examined herein is given and some observations are made about Podocotyle in the deep sea.
Tellervotrema Gibson & Bray, 1982 (Digenea: Opecoelidae) was erected for Podocotyle-like species that possess asymmetrical pair of isolated groups of vitelline follicles in the posterior forebody, lack them dorsal to the caeca andparasitize archybenthal macrourid fishes. Tellervotrema armstrongi Gibson & Bray, 1982 is redescribed from the typehost, the common Atlantic grenadier, Nezumia aequalis (Günther), N. cyrano Marshall & Iwamoto, and from anunidentified macrourid collected from the northern Gulf of Mexico. Tellervotrema beringi (Mamaev, 1965) is redescribedfrom the giant grenadier, Albatrossia pectoralis (Gilbert), and Coryphaenoides sp. obtained from off Oregon. Thefollowing six features are suggested to distinguish T. armstrongi and T. beringi: egg size; position of the genital pore;posterior extent of the cirrus-sac relative to the ventral sucker; testes volume relative to hindbody size; anterior extent ofthe paired vitelline groups in the forebody; and geographic locality. The generic diagnosis of Tellervotrema is amended toinclude circumcaecal vitelline follicles, and the presence of the vitelline gap itself was found to be a more consistentdiagnostic generic character than the location of the resulting pair of distinct, isolated groups of vitelline follicles createdby the gap. A neotype and paraneotypes are designated for T. beringi. The following new host and locality records areestablished: first original report of T. armstrongi from N. cyrano; first report of a member of Tellervotrema from the giantgrenadier, A. pectoralis; and the waters off Oregon are a new locality record for Tellervotrema, a genus in the North PacificOcean known only from the Bering Sea and off Japan. A comprehensive listing of all parasites previously reported fromthe four macrourid species examined herein is given and intermediate hosts are postulated through which species of Tellervotrema may complete their life cycles in the deep.
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