Abstract
Copepods of the family Pandaridae are typically ectoparasites of elasmobranch fishes. They display a cosmopolitan distribution and limited host specificity. Published literature on their occurrence on pelagic sharks in the Mediterranean is scarce, often from the past century, or scattered through fish parasite surveys. Moreover, of the 64 valid pandarid species known at present, molecular data from GenBank exists for only 10 species and there are no data from the Mediterranean. In this study, we begin addressing this knowledge gap by exploring the molecular features of some pandarid copepods (i.e., Dinemoura latifolia, Echthrogaleus coleoptratus, Pandarus satyrus, and Phyllothyreus cornutus) and their phylogenetic relationships using new material from pelagic sharks (i.e., Prionace glauca, Isurus oxyrinchus, and Carcharodon carcharias) in the Mediterranean. Genetic distances analysis showed intraspecific variation in the mitochondrial DNA cytochrome oxidase c subunit 1 (mtDNA cox1) sequences and interspecific variations of 0.001–0.081 and 0.196–0.288, respectively, for the small subunit ribosomal DNA (SSU rDNA) and the cox1 gene locus. Phylogenetic analyses of pandarid copepods based on sequences available in GenBank plus the sequences generated by our study revealed two major clades: the first, with strong nodal support, included species of Pandarus, Phyllothyreus, Pannosus, and Pseudopandarus; the second, with weaker nodal support, included species of Achtheinus, Perissopus, Echtrogaleus, Nesippus, and Dinemoura. As most pandarid species are missing from the present analyses, we discuss the limitations of our phylogenetic results. Nevertheless, this study represents a first step toward to yielding new information about the phylogeny of parasitic copepods on pelagic sharks in the Mediterranean.
Highlights
The Order Siphonostomatoida Thorell, 1859 includes 39 families of copepods and encompasses about 75% of all parasitic copepods on fishes (Gunn and Pitt, 2012)
Voucher specimens have been deposited in the collection of the Stazione Zoologica Anton Dohrn in Naples with the following accession numbers: SZN-CRUOO2A-2B (D. latifolia), SZNCRU003A-3B (P. satyrus), SZN-CRUOO4A-4B (Ph. cornutus) and SZN-CRU005A-5B (E. coleoptratus)
High quality sequences for both SSU and cox1 gene loci were successfully obtained for D. latifolia, E. coleoptratus, and P. satyrus
Summary
The Order Siphonostomatoida Thorell, 1859 includes 39 families of copepods and encompasses about 75% of all parasitic copepods on fishes (Gunn and Pitt, 2012). Members of the family Pandaridae Edwards, 1840, are typically parasites of external surfaces of elasmobranchs (Kabata, 1979; Izawa, 2010; Bernot and Boxshall, 2017). Pandarid copepods are characterized by attachment organs named adhesion pads (Kabata, 1988). Their adhesive surface is formed by a thick cushion of skin with a ridged outer layer (Wilson, 1907). The site of attachment on the host varies depending on tissue tropism and the fundamental niche of the parasite species; they can colonize fins, gills, the cloacal aperture, the mouth, or nasal passages (Benz, 1981, 1986; Rokicki and Bychawska, 1991). Pandarid species are cosmopolitan in their distribution, occurring in warm and temperate waters with most of the species capable of parasitizing more host species (Alvarez and Winfield, 2001)
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