New species of Aberrapex Jensen, 2001 (Cestoda: Lecanicephalidea) from eagle rays of the genus Myliobatis Cuvier (Myliobatiformes: Myliobatidae) from off Argentina

Abstract

Abstract:Three new species of Aberrapex Jensen, 2001 (Cestoda: Lecanicephalidea) have been collected from species of Myliobatis Cuvier along the coast of Argentina. Aberrapex ludmilae sp. n. parasitises M. goodei Garman in the San Matías Gulf. This species is unique in a combination of features including the shape and extent of the uterus, scolex size, testis distribution, and by lacking an external seminal vesicle and postovarian vitelline follicles. Aberrapex sanmartini sp. n. from M. goodei in San Blas Bay and A. vitalemuttiorum sp. n. from M. ridens Ruocco, Lucifora, Díaz de Astarloa, Mabragaña et Delpiani in coastal waters off Buenos Aires Province, are distinguished from all other congeners by the microthrix pattern on the scolex surface, uterus shape and extension, position of the connection of the uterine duct to the uterus, presence and extension of an external seminal vesicle, and its overall size and number of proglottids. The specimens of M. goodei and M. ridens show locally distinct cestode faunas, which are correlated with well-defined biogeographic regions. Some of these areas correspond with mating and nursery zones for species of Myliobatis.

What's in a name? Taxonomic and gender biases in the etymology of new species names

“…named in honour of 'Lemmy' Kilmister , leader of the heavy metal band Motorhead, of whom the senior author is a big fan [30] Aberrapex sanmartini named after Jose de San Martin, one of the leaders of South America's successful struggle for independence from Spain [31] Baracktrema obamai named in honour of Barack Obama, 44th President of the USA [32] (Continued. )…”

Tapeworms (Platyhelminthes, Cestoda) from marine chondrichthyans of the Southwestern Atlantic Ocean, and the sub-Antarctic and Antarctic islands: a checklist

“…Cestodes as parasites of chondrichthyans have been mostly recorded in the Northern Hemisphere ( Caira et al 2022 ). However, reports in southern latitudes have remarkably increased in the last decades due to focused sampling efforts in the area ( Menoret and Ivanov 2012a , b , 2014 , 2015 , 2021 ; Pickering and Caira 2012 ; Caira et al 2013a ; Abbott and Caira 2014 ; Mutti and Ivanov 2016 ; Menoret et al 2017 ; Franzese and Ivanov 2018 , 2020a , b , 2021 ; Palm et al 2019 ; Oosthuizen et al 2021 ; Franzese et al 2022 ; Van Der Spuy et al 2022 ). The present annotated checklist comprises 57 valid cestode species of 28 genera in nine orders, registered in the Río de la Plata estuary, Southwestern Atlantic off Argentina and the surrounding waters off Antarctica.…”

“…Considering that the major number of cestode species from this checklist are hosted by the myliobatiform Myliobatis goodei ( Brooks et al 1981 ; Ivanov and Campbell 1998a ; Menoret and Ivanov 2014 , 2015 ; Menoret et al 2017 ), it would be interesting to sample M. freminvillei Lesueur, the only species of myliobatid that has not been yet examined for cestodes in the region. On the other hand, only 13% (6/45) of the species of sharks have been reported as hosts in this area (Table 1 ).…”

“…This list includes information on localities, specimens in collections, and comments about the parasites and their hosts reported in previous works. We have also incorporated information about cestodes described in the last years, which included numerous new records and new localities ( Menoret et al 2017 ; Franzese and Ivanov 2018 , 2020a , b , 2021 ; Menoret and Ivanov 2021 ; Franzese et al 2022 ; this study).…”