Three new species of Macvicaria Gibson & Bray, 1982 (Digenea: Opecoelidae) infecting Diplodus spp. (Teleostei, Sparidae) from South Africa and Namibia

Abstract

To date, only a single species of the digenean genus Macvicaria Gibson & Bray, 1982-Macvicaria obovata (Molin, 1859)-has been reported from southern African coastal waters, infecting three fish species (two sparids and one cheilodactylid). Given the general paucity of information on digeneans from marine fishes in this region, the present study aimed to explore the diversity of these parasites in the endemic sparids the Cape white seabream Diplodus capensis (Smith) and the zebra seabream Diplodus hottentotus (Smith). By integrating molecular data (based on 28S rDNA, ITS2 rDNA, cox1 mtDNA and nad1 mtDNA) with morphometric and morphological characterisation, three new species of Macvicaria were identified from these fish hosts in South Africa and Namibia. These are described herein as Macvicaria umbungu, Macvicaria tsitsikamma and Macvicaria peetvermaaki. This study represents the first record of species of Macvicaria from D. capensis and is the first report of a representative of this genus from Namibia. The newly generated molecular data will be valuable for future phylogenetic studies, accurate species identification, and linking different life stages of Macvicaria spp. in southern Africa. This study provides insight into the endemism of marine fish trematodes in southern Africa and explores biogeographical links between southern Africa and the Mediterranean fish trematode fauna.