Publication
Title
Six new species of Cichlidogyrus Paperna, 1960 (Platyhelminthes: Monogenea) from the gills of cichlids (Teleostei: Cichliformes) from the Lomami River Basin (DRC: Middle Congo)
Author
Abstract
Background: Monogenea van Beneden, 1858 is a group of parasitic flatworms, commonly found infecting bony fish. Several genera, such as Cichlidogyrus Paperna, 1960, are reported to include potential pathogenic species that can negatively impact aquaculture fish stocks. They can switch from introduced to native fish and vice versa. In Africa (and all over the world), fish species belonging to Cichlidae are often kept in aquaculture and represent a major source of food. Thus, research on the biodiversity and occurrence of monogenean species on these fish is of importance for aquaculture and conservation. The present study is a survey of the diversity of species of Cichlidogyrus in the south of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) on three cichlid species: Orthochromis sp. ‘Lomami’, Serranochromis cf. macrocephalus, and Tilapia sparrmanii Smith, 1840. Methods: Specimens of Cichlidogyrus were isolated from the gills and mounted on glass slides with Hoyer’s medium. The genital and haptoral hard parts were measured and drawn using interference contrast. Results: In total, six species of Cichlidogyrus were found, all new to science: C. bulbophallus n. sp. and C. pseudozambezensis n. sp. on S. cf. macrocephalus, C. flagellum n. sp. and C. lobus n. sp. on T. sparrmanii, C. ranula n. sp. on S. cf. macrocephalus and Orthochromis sp. ‘Lomami’, and C. maeander n. sp. found on Orthochromis sp. ‘Lomami’ and T. sparrmanii. The first four species are considered to be strict specialists, C. ranula n. sp. an intermediate generalist and C. maeander n. sp. a generalist. These parasite species show morphological similarities to species found in the Lower Guinea and Zambezi ichthyofaunal provinces, which might be explained by past river capture events between river systems of the Congo Province and both these regions. Conclusions: Serranochromis cf. macrocephalus and Orthochromis sp. ‘Lomami’ can harbour respectively three and two species of Cichlidogyrus, all described in this study. Tilapia sparrmanii can harbour seven species, of which three are described in the present study. These results highlight the species diversity of this parasite genus in the Congo Basin.
Language
English
Source (journal)
Parasites and vectors
Publication
2020
ISSN
1756-3305
DOI
10.1186/S13071-020-3927-4
Volume/pages
13 :1 (2020) , p. 1-20
Article Reference
187
ISI
000526906000002
Pubmed ID
32272977
Medium
E-only publicatie
Full text (Publisher's DOI)
Full text (open access)
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Publication type
Subject
External links
Web of Science
Record
Identifier
Creation 23.10.2023
Last edited 25.04.2024
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