The genus in Mediterranean scorpaenoids (Teleostei), including the description of n. sp. from (Delaroche, 1809).

More than 65 species of the genus Van Beneden & Hesse, 1863, have been described to date, most of them infecting Perciformes. Among the scorpaenoids (Perciformes, formerly Scorpaeniformes) the species of the genus parasitize sebastids and scorpaenids worldwide. In this study, we provide new morphological and molecular data for spp. in sebastids and scorpaenids from the Western Mediterranean and north-east Atlantic. Specimens of (Delaroche, 1809) ( 107) and spp. ( 107) were examined and their microcotylid specimens morphologically and molecularly characterized. n. sp. ex and specimens of Ayadi, Gey, Justine & Tazerouti, 2016 from a new host and locality ( from the north-east Atlantic) are herein described. Both species are phylogenetically close, but their morphology is markedly different mostly because the anterior lobe of the haptor present in other species is almost absent in . Findings of n. sp. in the Mediterranean also excludes the presence of in this sea, encouraging the review of the exceptionally large host range and geographical distribution of this species.