New Species of Rhabdosynochus Mizelle and Blatz 1941 (Monogenoidea: Diplectanidae) From the Gills of the Cultured Centropomus viridis (Perciformes) in the Mexican Eastern Tropical Pacific.

PURPOSE

There are currently nine monogenoidean species of Rhabdosynochus infecting the gill lamellae of wild and cultured centropomid fishes from tropical and subtropical waters of the western Atlantic and eastern Pacific Oceans. The purpose of the present study was to describe the morphological distinctiveness of two new species of Rhabdosynochus found on the cultured Centropomus viridis collected from floating cages from the Mexican eastern Tropical Pacific in 2018.

METHODS

monogenoideans were fixed with 4-5% formalin solution, observed and measured as temporary or permanent mounts stained with Gomori's trichrome, and mounted in Canada balsam. Other specimens were mounted on slides using a mixture of lactic acid (LA) and glycerin-ammonium picrate (GAP) and then remounted in Canada balsam to obtain measurements of the haptoral structures and copulatory complex. Illustrations were prepared with the aid of a drawing tube using a Leica microscope DM 2500 with Nomarski interference contrast.

RESULTS

Rhabdosynochus viridisi n. sp. is mainly differentiated from all other congeneric species in the shape and size of their copulatory complexes, i.e., length 75-105 µm vs. 45-55 µm in R. alterinstitus, 26-44 µm in R. volucris, 19-22 µm in R. lituparvus, 21-37 µm in R. siliquaus, 48-75 µm in R. hargisi, 37-44 µm in R. hudsoni and 44-61 µm in R. guanduensis. Rhabdosynochus pacificus n. sp. differs from all other species of the genus in having an accessory piece (one subunit) distally twisted.

CONCLUSIONS

Based on the morphometric differences of the two new species described above, the number of valid species of Rhabdosynochus has now increased to 11. These two new species of Rhabdosynochus represent the first described species of the genus on C. viridis.