Abstract
Knowledge of the Arabian Gulf fish's parasite fauna is very poor. Until recently, only scattered reports from different locations are known for ecto- and endoparasites. Therefore, the present study aimed to investigate the digenean species that infects one of the most economically fish species in the Arabian Gulf, the rosy goatfish Parupeneus rubescens . One plagiorchiid species has been described, belonging to the Gorgoderidae family, and has been named as Phyllodistomum vaili Ho, Bray, Cutmore, Ward & Cribb, 2014 based on its morphological and morphometric characteristics. In order to accurately classify and characterize this plagiorchiid species, molecular analysis was carried out using both nuclear 18S and 28S rRNA gene regions and revealed that the present plagiorchiid species was associated with other species belonging to the Gorgoderidae family and deeply embedded in the Phyllodistomum genus, closely related to the previously described P. vaili (gb| KF013187.1, KF013173.1). The present study therefore revealed that the species Phyllodistomum is the first account as endoparasites from the rosy goatfish inhabiting the Arabian Gulf.
Highlights
The Gorgoderidae was erected by Looss in 1899 for infecting the urinary bladder of actinopterygians and tetrapods, while those in chondrichthyans are generally in the body cavity; some species are recorded from other sites such as swim bladder, gall bladder and intestine (Campbell, 2008)
Ten out of twenty (50%) specimens of the examined rosy goatfish Parupeneus rubescens were found to be naturally infected with the trematode parasite in the urinary bladder that identified as Phyllodistomum vaili Ho, Bray, Cutmore, Ward & Cribb, 2014
Phyllodistomum vaili Ho, Bray, Cutmore, Ward & Cribb, 2014 found to be naturally infected the urinary bladder of the rosy goatfish P. rubescens inhabited the Arabian Gulf and this species represented by a moderate parasite prevalence (50.0%)
Summary
The Gorgoderidae was erected by Looss in 1899 for infecting the urinary bladder of actinopterygians and tetrapods, while those in chondrichthyans are generally in the body cavity; some species are recorded from other sites such as swim bladder, gall bladder and intestine (Campbell, 2008). It was a distinctive family of trematodes characterized by non-spinous tegument, simple male terminal genitalia, highly restrained vitellarium and extensive uterus (Campbell, 2008). Relationships within the Gorgoderidae are unclear, except for the assumption that the peculiar deep-sea genus Degeneria Campbell, 1977 was a gorgoderid, and that it was probably basal within the family
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