An overview of the Gyrodactylus (Monogenea: Gyrodactylidae) species parasitizing African catfishes, and their morphological and molecular diversity

Abstract

An overview of Gyrodactylus infecting catfishes from the African continent is provided, including new data from Sudan, Senegal, Kenya and Mozambique. Haptoral sclerite morphometry and nuclear ribosomal DNA sequences revealed the presence of eight Gyrodactylus species. On Senegalese Synodontis nigrita, Gyrodactylus synodonti n. sp. and Gyrodactylus nigritae n. sp. are described. These are the first reports of gyrodactylid parasites from mochokid hosts. From the fins of North African catfish Clarias gariepinus collected in Mozambique, Gyrodactylus alekosi n. sp. and Gyrodactylus rysavyi were identified. G. rysavyi was also reported from Kenyan C. gariepinus and Senegalese Clarias anguillaris. From the fins of C. anguillaris studied in Senegal, two more species, Gyrodactylus transvaalensis and Gyrodactylus gelnari n. sp. were recognised. In addition, Gyrodactylus turkanaensis n. sp. from the gills of Kenyan C. gariepinus was described and an undescribed Gyrodactylus sp. was recorded from Sudanese representatives of the same host. Detailed morphometrical and molecular comparisons of the species are presented and discussed. The study highlights the hitherto understudied diversity of viviparous monogenean parasites throughout Africa.

Problematic barcoding in flatworms: A case-study on monogeneans and rhabdocoels (Platyhelminthes)

“…As a consequence, these sequence fragments are often included in species descriptions (e.g. Huyse and Malmberg 2004, García-Vásquez et al 2007, 2011, Paetow et al 2009, Paladini et al 2009, 2010, 2011a, b, Přikrylová et al 2009a, b, 2012a, b, Rokicka et al 2009, Vaughan et al 2010, Schelkle et al 2011, Vanhove et al 2011b, Ziętara et al 2012, Řehulková et al 2013). This goes especially for representatives of Gyrodactylus von Nordmann, 1832.…”

“…This goes especially for representatives of Gyrodactylus von Nordmann, 1832. As is often the case, ITS sequences in monogeneans display little (or no) intraspecific variation (Meinilä et al 2002, Huyse et al 2006, Přikrylová et al 2012a, but see Vanhove et al 2011b), precluding comparisons of interspecific versus intraspecific genetic diversity which is an important part of COI barcoding (Stoeckle 2003, Hebert et al 2004). It is, however, unfortunate that many studies do not address potential intraspecific ITS diversity at all.…”

Description of Afrogyrodactylus ardae sp. n. (Monogenea: Gyrodactylidae) from Rhabdalestes septentrionalis (Characiformes: Alestidae) in the Niokolo-Koba National Park, Senegal

“…Traditionally the taxomony of gyrodactlid parasites has been based on the morphometry of the hard parts of the opisthaptor (Malmberg, 1970;Ergens, 1973). With the implementation of molecular methods in the differentiation of Gyrodactylus species (Cunningham et al, 1995), the application of molecular methods became an important part of taxonomic studies (García-Vásquez et al, 2011;Vanhove et al, 2011;Přikrylová et al, 2012;Zahradníčková et al, 2016). These methods have also been applied to various genera of Gyrodactylidae, inlcuding Afrogyrodactylus (Přikrylová et al, 2013).…”

Gyrodactylus malalai sp. nov. (Monogenea, Gyrodactylidae) from Nile tilapia, Oreochromis niloticus (L.) and Redbelly tilapia, Tilapia zillii (Gervais) (Teleostei, Cichlidae) in the Lake Turkana, Kenya

“…Recent studies (Vanhove et al 2011, Přikrylová et al 2012 indicate Africa to be a hotspot of fish parasite biodiversity with numerous species as yet undescribed. As our knowledge of monogenean biodiversity is a clear reflection of previous sampling effort, the predictions of parasite biodiversity in Asia and South America might also be high, following the conservative estimates of Bakke et al (2002).…”

“…More recently, a number of Gyrodactylus spp. have been discovered not only on cichlids resulting in the description of 12 new species (Přikrylová et al 2009, Vanhove et al 2011, García-Vásquez et al 2011, Přikrylová et al 2012. The total number of Gyrodactylus species described from African fish is generally low (total 33), and only 10 of them parasitize cichlid fish (Table I).…”