Cestodes of the genus Anthobothrium van Beneden, 1850 in five carcharhinid shark species from the southern waters of Iran, with the description of three new species, new host and locality records, and a key to the species of the genus.

Abstract

Examining the intestinal cestode fauna of the shark species Carcharhinus dussumieri (Müller and Henle), C. sorrah (Müller and Henle), C. leucas (Müller and Henle), and Rhizoprionodon acutus (Rüppell) from the Persian Gulf and C. macloti (Müller and Henle) from the Gulf of Oman resulted in the description of three new species of the tetraphyllidean genus Anthobothrium van Beneden, 1850, along with the establishment of new host and locality records. Anthobothrium afsanae sp. nov. and A. barsami sp. nov. were found in C. dussumieri and C. sorrah. Carcharhinus macloti was the additional host of A. barsami and new host record for A. parimae Sadeghi Kamachali and Haseli, 2022, for which a new locality record was established in the Gulf of Oman. Carcharhinus leucas is the type host of A. elenae sp. nov. and a new host record for A. lesteri Williams, Burt and Caira, 2004. A new locality record for A. lesteri is the Persian Gulf, which is far away from the type locality, Australia. Rhizoprionodon acutus is new host record for A. samae Sadeghi Kamachali and Haseli, 2022 and A. shayani Sadeghi Kamachali and Haseli, 2022. With 14 valid species of Anthobothrium and given the relatively uniform morphology of members of this genus, a key to the species of Anthobothrium is presented. The biogeographical distribution and host specificity are also discussed for the species of Anthobothrium.