Susanlimae ianwhittingtoni gen. Nov., sp. nov. (Monogenoidea: Dactylogyridae), a dweller of the gill rakers of pseudeutropius moolenburghae (Siluriformes: Schilbeidae) from Sumatra

Abstract

A new genus and species of Monogenoidea, Susanlimae ianwhittingtoni gen. nov., sp. nov., are proposed for dactylogyrids collected from the “Nuayang tipis”, Pseudeutropius moolenburghae Weber & de Beaufort, 1913, which inhabits freshwater in Sumatra. While clearly a member of a putative clade that includes Asian and African catfish parasites, S. ianwhittingtoni sp. nov. differs from most members of this clade by having a bifurcated haptor that embraces the gill rakers of its host. This haptoral morphology and mode of attachment also occur in species of Bifurcohaptor Jain, 1958. However, species of Susanlimae gen. nov. are easily distinguished by the comparative morphology of their haptoral armature. In Susanlimae gen. nov., the ventral and dorsal bars are single, elongated, and inverted u-shaped (ventral bar short and two short dorsal bars in Bifurcohaptor spp.); the dorsal anchor is robust with well-defined roots (reduced roots and elongate shaft in Bifurcohaptor spp.); and the ventral anchor has an elongated, deep root (inconspicuous in Bifurcohaptor spp.).