A new species of Haliotrema (Monogenea: Ancyrocephalidae) from a Japanese puffer fish Takifugu niphobles (Tetraodontiformes: Tetraodontidae).

A new species of Haliotrema is described on the basis of material from the gills of the Japanese puffer fish Takifugu niphobles. The new species is compared to other ancyrocephalids from tetraodontid hosts and congeners with similar copulum morphology from unrelated hosts. It is distinguished from these species based on a combination of reproductive and haptoral characters. Comparison of the haptor musculature of the new species with that described for Haliotrema balisticus revealed a potential for additional taxonomic characters. Resolution of differences in the interpretation of the functional morphology of the muscle groups in the two species will require further investigation.