Abstract
During the examination of 913 fish specimens belonging to four families in the Campeche Bank (Gulf of Mexico), 23 gill ectoparasitic monogenean species were found, which belong to three families: Dactylogyridae, Microcotylidae and Diclidophoridae. The species Euryhaliotremaamydrum, E.carbuncularium, E.dunlapae, E.fajeravilae, E.fastigatum, E.longibaculum, E.paracanthi, E.tubocirrus, Haliotrematoidescornigerum, H.gracilihamus, H.heteracantha, H.longihamus, H.magnigastrohamus, H.striatohamus, Hamatopedunculariabagre, Neotetraonchusbravohollisae, and N.felis (all Dactylogyridae) were found on the hosts Lutjanussynagris, L.griseus, Ariopsisfelis, Bagremarinus, Archosargusrhomboidalis, and Haemulonplumieri. Additionally, Microcotylearchosargi, Microcotyle sp., and Microcotyloidesincisa (all Microcotylidae) were found on L.griseus and A.rhomboidalis; finally, Choricotyle sp. 1, Choricotyle sp. 2, and Choricotyle sp. 3 (all Diclidophoridae) were found on H.plumieri. The prevalence, abundance, mean intensity of infection, and supplementary taxonomic revisions for all monogeneans found are provided. Partial sequences of the 28S rRNA gene were also obtained for monogeneans of ariid, sparid, and haemulid host fishes to explore their systematic position within the Monogenea. New locality and host records for some previously described species of Euryhaliotrema, Hamatopeduncularia, Microcotyle, and Choricotyle from lutjanid, ariid, sparid, and haemulid hosts were reported. The present study adds evidence supporting the interoceanic occurrence of the same monogenean species (on lutjanids) on the west-east Atlantic and Pacific Oceans (= amphiamerican species). As previously suggested, there are at least, two possibilities to explain that parasite distribution: differentiation of morphological features in these monogeneans have resulted in only slight to insignificant morphological changes developing over the extended period of 3.2 mya (when the Isthmus of Panama was closing) and/or speciation is only evident at molecular level.
Highlights
The Campeche Bank represents an important marine ecosystem characterized by a high biodiversity, which is threatened by important overfishing and energy extraction activities (Soto et al 2014)
The present study provided the first molecular data of E. carbuncularium; there are two sequences (676 and 856 bp, respectively) of individual specimens of this monogenean species included within the analyses that shows that this species forms a sister lineage to that containing Euryhaliotrema mehen (Soler-Jiménez, García-Gasca & Fajer-Ávila, 2012) Kritsky, 2012, which is known on Lutjanus guttatus (Steindachner, 1869) in the Eastern Pacific
The present study provided the first molecular data on species of Choricotyle in Mexico; both sequences of Choricotyle sp. 1 included into the present analyses revealed that this species forms a sister lineage to that containing C. anisotremi which occurs on A. scapularis (Pomadasyidae) from Chile (Oliva 1987)
Summary
The Campeche Bank (southwest Gulf of Mexico) represents an important marine ecosystem characterized by a high biodiversity, which is threatened by important overfishing and energy (petroleum) extraction activities (Soto et al 2014). Because of its economic impact on Mexicos economy, the Campeche Bank is considered a strategic region in the national plans for the social and economic development of Mexico (Piñeiro 2001).The knowledge of the diversity, abundance and distribution of species is the base for developing management plans for threatened species and preserving its natural resources for ecological and economic purposes (Ocean Conservancy 2011). Parasite biodiversity information can be critical for the control and safe management of commercial fish species (Vignon and Sasal 2010, Quiazon 2015). Parasites remain an underestimated component of the total biodiversity in many regions (Lafferty et al 2015)
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