Abstract
Heterosentis holospinus Amin, Heckmann & Ha, 2011 (Arhythmacanthidae) was first described from the striped eel catfish, Plotosus lineatus (Plotosidae) in Halong Bay, Vietnam. New morphological information, scanning electron microscope images, molecular analysis, and Energy Dispersive X-ray analysis (EDXA) of hooks of specimens of H. holospinus from a new collection from the common ponyfish, Leiognathus equulus (Leiognathidae), in Quang Binh, Gulf of Tonkin, Vietnam are reported here for the first time. Additional details of the anterior trunk cone, proboscis hooks, wholly spined trunk, duck-bill-like spines with micropores, and micropore distribution, are described. The unique metal composition of hooks (EDXA) demonstrated a considerably higher level of calcium and phosphorus but lower level of sulfur at the hook basal arch than at the hook tip and edge. An analysis of our new sequences of cytochrome oxidase 1 (COI) showed that H. holospinus had low genetic variation and two haplotypes.
Highlights
Most of the recent taxonomic work on the Acanthocephala from Vietnam has been reported by the Amin–Heckmann–Ha team since 2000
Specimens of H. holospinus were collected from an undetermined number of individuals of the common ponyfish, Leiognathus equulus (Forsskål) (Leiognathidae), which were concurrently infected with other acanthocephalans, off the central Pacific coast of Vietnam at Quang Binh (17°300 N 106°200 E) in the Gulf of Tonkin near Halong Bay on May 15, 2017, and previously recorded but not described [22] from the same host species in Quang Ninh, in the Halong Bay area
Specimens of H. holospinus are recorded from a new host, L. equulus which was concurrently infected with other acanthocephalans, in a new locality off Quang Ninh at the Gulf of Tonkin near Halong Bay, where the type specimens were originally collected
Summary
Most of the recent taxonomic work on the Acanthocephala from Vietnam has been reported by the Amin–Heckmann–Ha team since 2000. Amin et al [3] discussed the taxonomic status and history of the genus Heterosentis Van Cleave, 1931, with Arhythmacanthus Yamaguti, 1935 as its junior synonym, based on the number of different types of hooks on the proboscis, listed its 15 known species and their distribution, and noted that “the distribution of species of Heterosentis corresponds to that of its host species. For the first time, descriptions of its molecular profile and Energy Dispersive X-ray pattern, as well as its micropores
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