Abstract
Three new species of 'tetraphyllideans' in the family Serendipeidae are described from cownose rays off Senegal. Duplicibothrium jeannettae n. sp. and Duplicibothrium collosum n. sp. parasitize both Rhinoptera marginata and Rhinoptera peli. Duplicibothrium jillae n. sp. parasitizes R. marginata. Duplicibothrium jeannettae n. sp. and D. jillae n. sp. differ from one another and their described congeners in size, number of proglottids, and locular configuration. The generic assignment of D. collosum n. sp. was initially unclear because its scolex more closely resembles that of Serendip than Duplicibothrium. To help inform generic placement, sequence data were generated for the 28S rDNA gene (D1-D3 region) for the three new species as well as for Duplicibothrium minutum and Duplicibothrium n. sp. 2 from Rhinoptera bonasus off North Carolina, Duplicibothrium n. sp. 3 from Rhinoptera brasiliensis off Belize, Duplicibothrium n. sp. 4 and Duplicibothrium n. sp. 5 from Rhinoptera jayakari off Mozambique, and Duplicibothrium n. sp. 6 from Rhinoptera neglecta off Australia. Comparable data were obtained from GenBank for adults and larvae of Duplicibothrium collected from the Gulf of Mexico. The tree resulting from a maximum likelihood analysis (MLA) placed D. collosum n. sp. robustly within Duplicibothrium; the generic diagnosis is emended accordingly. This raises a question regarding the independence, and thus also validity, of the three genera of the Serendipeidae - a question that must await a molecular analysis that includes Serendip and Glyphobothrium. These results extend the hosts of Duplicibothrium to include R. brasiliensis, R. jayakari, R. marginata, R. neglecta and R. peli, and the distribution to include the western Pacific Ocean, eastern Atlantic Ocean, and western Indian Ocean (Zoobank Registration: 97BB5020-BFFF-4FEA-AE07-B4711D1110FC).
Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
