Four new species of Dactylogyrus Diesing, 1850 (Monogenea: Dactylogyridae) parasitising the gills of northern Moroccan Luciobarbus Heckel (Cyprinidae): morphological and molecular characterisation.

Abstract

Four new species of Dactylogyrus Diesing, 1850 are described from the gills of three species of Luciobarbus Heckel collected from various hydrographical basins in northern Morocco: Dactylogyrus scorpius n. sp. from Luciobarbus rifensis Doadrio, Casal-Lopez & Yahyaoui; D. benhoussai n. sp. from L. moulouyensis Pellegrin; and D. varius n. sp. and D. falsiphallus n. sp. from L. maghrebensis Doadrio, Perea & Yahyaoui. The descriptions of the new species are confirmed by molecular data (partial 18S rDNA, ITS1, and partial 28S rDNA sequences). All four species belong to the group of Dactylogyrus species, possessing a cross-shaped ventral bar and a male copulatory organ composed of a loosely coiled copulatory tube and an accessory piece with a capsule-like base and recurved distal portion. Given the high shape variability of the haptoral anchors reported among specimens of D. varius n. sp., three morphological forms within this species (D. varius f. vulgaris, D. varius f. magnus, and D. varius f. dromedarius) are recognised. However, specimens belonging to D. benhoussai n. sp. and D. varius f. vulgaris were morphologically very similar and were discriminated with certainty, only when using molecular data.