Haliotrematoides guttati ( García-Vargas, Fajer-Ávila & Lamothe-Argumedo, 2008 ) Kritsky, Delane C., Tingbao, Yang & Yuan, Sun, 2009

Kritsky, Delane C., Tingbao, Yang & Yuan, Sun, 2009, Dactylogyrids (Monogenoidea, Polyonchoinea) parasitizing the gills of snappers (Perciformes, Lutjanidae): Proposal of Haliotrematoides n. gen. and descriptions of new and previously described species from marine fishes of the Red Sea, the eastern and Indo-west Pacific Ocean, Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean Sea, Zootaxa 1970 (1970), pp. 1-51 : 37-39

Haliotrematoides guttati ( García-Vargas, Fajer-Ávila & Lamothe-Argumedo, 2008) n. comb.

( Figs. 104–109)

Syn. Haliotrema guttati García-Vargas, Fajer-Ávila & Lamothe-Argumedo, 2008

Source of current specimens: Spotted rose snapper, L. guttatus (Steindachner) (Lutjanidae) : Taboga Island, Panama (8 o 49'N, 79 o 34'W), 24 May 2007; Perlas Archipelago, Panama (8 o 22'N, 79 o 01'W), 24 May 2007.

Type host and locality: Spotted rose snapper, Lutjanus guttatus (Lutjanidae) : Pacific coast off Mazatlán, Sinaloa, Mexico (23 o 29'N, 106 o 36'W).

Site of infection: Gills.

Specimens studied: Paratype, HWML 48570 ; 2 voucher specimens, HWML 48571 ; 2 voucher specimens, USNPC 101370 , 101371 .

Previous records (as Haliotrema guttati ): Lutjanus guttatus : Pacific coast off Matzatlán, Sinaloa, Mexico, by García-Vargas et al. (2008); Cruz de Huanacaxtle, Nayarit, Mexico, by García-Vargas et al. (2008).

Measurements: Body 571 (529–613; n = 2) long; greatest width 101 (88–114; n = 2). Haptor 103 (96–110; n = 2) long, 92 (85–98; n = 2) wide. Pharynx 34 (33–35; n = 2) wide. MCO 41 (38–44; n = 2) long. Ventral anchor 45 (44–46; n = 2) long; dorsal anchor 55 (50–60; n = 2) long. Ventral bar 45–46 (n = 1) long; dorsal bar 44–45 (n = 1) long. Hook 13 (12–14; n = 10) long. Germarium 46–47 (n = 1) long, 27–28 (n = 1) wide; testis 70–71 (n = 1) long, 45–46 (n = 1) wide.

Remarks: This species was recently described from spotted rose snapper in Mexico as Haliotrema guttati by García-Vargas et al. (2008). The original figures are highly diagrammatic (apparently drawn free hand) and are insufficient for diagnosis of the species, and unfortunately, the two specimens collected during the present study were also insufficient for redescription of the species. However, examination of the paratype (HWML 48570) and the two voucher specimens (HWML 48571) confirm the conspecificity of present specimens with those collected by García-Vargas et al. (2008), and that the species is clearly a member of Haliotrematoides . Although this species requires redescription, it is transferred to Haliotrematoides as H. guttati ( García-Vargas, Fajer-Ávila & Lamothe-Argumedo, 2008) n. comb. based on the morphology of the haptoral armament and copulatory complex and position of the hooks.

Haliotrematoides guttati closely resembles H. heteracantha in the comparative morphology of the anchors, bars and copulatory complex. Although specimens of H. heteracantha were not available for study, the two species are presently considered distinct based on absence of a loop in the shaft of the MCO in H. heteracantha (present in H. guttati ). However, the figures of H. heteracantha provided by Zhukov (1976) suggests that the MCO of the specimen drawn may be distorted or folded due to coverslip pressure, which may have obscured the loop of the shaft. Determination of possible synonymy, therefore, will depend on examination of the type specimens of H. heteracantha (not available for this study) or on recollection of the species from L. synagris in the Gulf of Mexico for comparison with H. guttati .

The occurrence of H. guttati in Panama is a new geographic record for the helminth.