Molecular evidence for the existence of species complexes within Macvicaria Gibson & Bray, 1982 (Digenea: Opecoelidae) in the western Mediterranean, with descriptions of two new species

Abstract

Morphological and molecular characterisation of specimens of Macvicaria spp. (Digenea: Opecoelidae) from five species of Mediterranean sparids (Teleostei: Sparidae) sampled in the Bizerte Lagoon and the Bay of Bizerte (Tunisia) revealed the presence of two species complexes designated as ''obovata'' and ''crassigula'' groups. Detailed comparative morphological and phylogenetic analyses revealed that two of the specimen sets, one from each complex, represent species new to science. M. maamouriae n. sp. from Sparus aurata L. and Lithognathus mormyrus (L.) appeared genetically similar to M. obovata (Molin, 1859) but differs in having a much larger ventral sucker relative to body width, a cirrus-sac extending dorsally to the posterior margin of the ventral sucker or more posterior, vitelline fields comprising distinctly more abundant vitelline follicles, reaching the level of the pharynx both ventrally and dorsally and confluent dorsally in the forebody, and an ovary contiguous with the anterior testis. Macvicaria bartolii n. sp. from Diplodus annularis (L.) and Spondyliosoma cantharus (L.) belongs to the ''crassigula'' group and is characterised by having almost exclusively dorsal vitelline follicles forming two non-confluent fields in the forebody. Additional morphological data are provided for Macvicaria dubia (Stossich, 1905), a poorly known parasite of Oblada melanura (L.). Morphological descriptions are associated with ITS1-5.8S-ITS2 and 28S rDNA sequences for the three Mediterranean species of Macvicaria Gibson & Bray, 1982. The results of our study suggest that further exploration of the species diversity within this genus should be based on both morphological and molecular data.

Knowledge of marine fish trematodes of Atlantic and Eastern Pacific Oceans

“…In addition, little effort has been made, hitherto, to explore the genetic validity of Atlantic species. Relatively recent works by, for example, Jousson (Jousson et al, 1999 , 2000 ; Jousson, 2001 ), Blasco-Costa (Blasco-Costa et al, 2009a , b , 2010 ), Antar (Antar et al, 2015 ) in the Mediterranean and Curran, Pulis and Andres (Andres et al, 2014 ; Curran & Pulis, 2014 ; Pulis et al, 2014 ) in the Gulf of Mexico, are the exception. In the wider Atlantic the study of some deep-sea species of Lepidapedon Stafford, 1904 and other lepidapedids and fellodistomids (Lumb et al, 1993 ; Bray et al, 1994 , 1999 ) has shown that cryptic species are common.…”

The diversity of teleost fish trematodes in the Bay of Bizerte, Tunisia (Western Mediterranean)

“…Of these, two were recognised using both morphological and molecular methods (see Antar et al, 2015). In addition, the life cycle of Proctoeces maculatus (Looss, 1901) was studied in Bizerte Lagoon using the same methods, resulting in our suggesting the existence of cryptic species based on the different developmental stages of the life-cycle of this ‘species’ (Antar & Gargouri, 2015). In the present work, we provide information on the diversity of digenean species in teleost fishes off the northern coast of Tunisia (Bay of Bizerte) and compare our results with those already published for the other localities of the Mediterranean Sea.…”

Digenean parasites in two congeneric sparid fish and of commercial importance, Pagellus erythrinus (Linnaeus, 1758) and Pagellus acarne (Risso, 1827), from the western Mediterranean coast of Algeria

“…The digenean fauna of sparid fish has been the subject of various studies in the Mediterranean Sea, among them we will cite the works of: Bartoli, 1987aBartoli, , 1987bBartoli & Gibson, 1989;Bartoli et al, 1989aBartoli et al, , 1989bSaad-Fares & Maillard, 1990;Sasal et al, 1999;Kostadinova & Gibson, 2009;Sanchez et al, 2013Sanchez et al, , 2014. Moreover, we can also mention recent works undertaken on the parasitofauna of sparidae fishes in the Mediterranean Sea, including the work of Merzoug et al, 2012;Abid Kachour et al, 2013;Antar & Gargouri Ben Abdallah, 2013;Abid Kachour, 2014;Antar et al, 2015;Bellal et al, 2016. However, this contribution is still incomplete, knowing that sparidae are considered as ideal host fish for the larval and adult stages. The biodiverty of the community of the digenean parasites within each host will allow us to highlight their trophic Digenean parasites in two sparid fishes congeneric and of commercial importance from Algeria TISTICA software (Statsoft statistica version 12.5.192.7).…”