Haliotrematoides patellacirrus ( Bychowsky & Nagibina, 1971 ) 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 : 22-24

Haliotrematoides patellacirrus ( Bychowsky & Nagibina, 1971) n. comb.

( Figs. 48–54)

Syn. Haliotrema patellacirrus Bychowsky & Nagibina, 1971 .

Source of current specimens: Russell’s snapper, Lutjanus russellii (Bleeker) (Lutjanidae) : La Régniėre, Off Nouméa, New Caledonia (22 o 19.804'S, 166 o 20.229'E), 8 September 2005. Dory snapper, Lutjanus fulviflamma (Forssk å l) ( Lutjanidae ): off Heron Island, Great Barrier Reef, Australia (23 o 27'S, 151 o 55'E), 18 July 2001; Récif Crouy, Off Nouméa, New Caledonia, 13 May 2008. Blacktail snapper, Lutjanus fulvus (Forster) (Lutjanidae) : La Régni ė re, Off Nouméa, New Caledonia (22 o 19.804'S, 166 o 20.229'E), 8 September 2005. Five-lined snapper, Lutjanus quinquelineatus (Bloch) (Lutjanidae) : La Régniėre, Off Nouméa, New Caledonia (22 o 19.804'S, 166 o 20.229'E), 8 September 2005, 19 March 2007. Blackspot snapper, Lutjanus ehrenbergii (Peters) (Lutjanidae) : Nabq Bay, Ras Mohammed National Park (South Sinai, Red Sea), Egypt (28 o 02'52"N, 34 o 26'21"E), 23 October 2005; Brownstripe red snapper, Lutjanus vitta (Quoy & Gaimard) , off Baie des Citrons, Noumea, New Caledonia (22 o 17.441'S, 166 o 25.446'E), 24 April 2008.

Type host and locality: Bigeye snapper, Lutjanus lutjanus Bloch (Lutjanidae) : South China Sea.

Site of infection: Gills.

Specimens studied: 14 voucher specimens (from L. russellii ), USNPC 101338, BMNH 2008.11.19.28- 29, MNHN JNC 1582 (Th156-156 bis), JNC 1583 (TH157), JNC 1584 (Th157 bis), JNC 1585 (Th158); 6 voucher specimens (from L. fulviflamma ), USNPC 101339, BMNH 2008.11.19.30, QM G230697, MNHN JNC 2531 (Th158 bis); 4 voucher specimens (from L. ehrenbergii ), USNPC 101340, BMNH 2008.11.19.31; 9 voucher specimens (from L. fulvus ), USNPC 101341, BMNH 2008.11.19.32-33, MNHN JNC 1591 (Th160), JNC 1592 (Th159-159 bis); 18 voucher specimens (from L. quinquelineatus ), USNPC 101342, 101343, BMNH 2008.11.19.34-35, MNHN JNC 2146 (Th160 bis), JNC 2147 (Th161), JNC 2142 (Th162-162 bis), JNC 2141 (Th163), JNC 2144 (Th163 bis); voucher specimen (from L. vitta ), MNHN JNC 2470 (Th161 bis).

Previous records (as Haliotrema patellacirrus ): Lutjanus lutjanus : South China Sea ( Bychowsky & Nagibina 1971). Lutjanus fulviflamma : South China Sea ( Bychowsky & Nagibina 1971).

Redescription: Greatest width usually at level of vaginal pore and MCO in anterior trunk. Cephalic lobes well developed. Eyespots with lenses. Pharynx subovate. Testis ovate; seminal vesicle inconspicuous. MCO comprising proximal platter-shaped base, distal tubular shaft a loose clockwise coil of about 3/4 of a ring, enclosed in sheath with subterminal knob-like projection. Prostatic reservoir lying anterior to base of MCO on left side of trunk. Germarium pyriform to irregular in shape. Vaginal pore within whorl of tissue at level of MCO; seminal vestibule absent; vaginal canal delicate, elongate; seminal receptacle inconspicuous, lying near body midline anterior to germarium. Ventral anchor with elongate superficial root, knob-like deep root, shaft slightly narrowed distally, straight recurved point with delicate superficial grooves. Dorsal anchor with elongate superficial root, inconspicuous (or absent) deep root, straight shaft of varying diameter, straight recurved point; distal shaft and point superficially grooved. Ventral bar with two submedial pockets along anterior margin; dorsal bar rod-shaped, with subterminal notches, ends slightly narrower than medial portion of bar. Hook distribution typical.

Measurements: Table 3.

Remarks: This species was originally described as Haliotrema patellacirrus from the gills of L. lutjanus and L. fulviflamma from the South China Sea by Bychowsky & Nagibina (1971). It is transferred to Haliotrematoides as H. patellacirrus n. comb. based on the comparative morphology of the copulatory complex, haptoral armament and internal morphology. It most closely resembles H. lanx by having an enlarged platelike base of the MCO. The two species are easily differentiated by H. patellacirrus having a shorter shaft of the MCO forming a coil of about 3/4 ring (shaft elongate and with more than one complete ring in H. lanx ) and by lacking inner blades on the distal shafts of the dorsal and ventral anchors (present in H. lanx ).

Haliotrematoides patellacirrus has a relatively low host specificity among snappers, having been found on six species of Lutjanus examined during this study. Occurrence of H. patellacirrus on L. russelli , L. vitta , L. fulvus and L. quinquelineatus from New Caledonia and on L. ehrenbergii in the Red Sea represent new host and locality records for the parasite. Its presence on L. fulviflamma in Australia is a new locality record for the parasite on this host.