Revision of the genus Afrogyrodactylus Paperna, 1968 (Monogenea: Gyrodactylidae) with description of two new species from geographically distant localities

Abstract

This study revises the originally monotypic genus Afrogyrodactylus Paperna, 1968 (Monogenea), the species of which infect alestid fish (Characiformes) in Africa, and includes new records of these parasites from three geographically distant countries, Senegal, Sudan and South Africa. Morphology of opisthaptoral hooks and bars and nuclear ribosomal DNA data revealed three Afrogyrodactylus species. Afrogyrodactylus girgifae sp. n. is described from the fins of the Sudanese nurse tetra, Brycinus nurse (Rüppell), and A. kingi sp. n. presents from the gill arches of the South African sharptooth tetra, Micralestes acutidens (Peters), whereas a previously undescribed Afrogyrodactylus sp. occurred on the fins of B. nurse from Senegal. All three species differ conspicuously from the only one known species of this genus, A. characinis Paperna, 1968, by the dimensions of their haptoral hard parts. Detailed morphological and molecular descriptions and comparisons are presented.