Plectanocotyle major sp. n. (Monogenea: Plectanocotylidae), a gill parasite of Chelidonichthys obscurus (Teleostei: Triglidae) from the Mediterranean Sea

Abstract

Plectanocotyle major sp. n. (Monogenea: Polyopisthocotylea: Plectanocotylidae) is described from Chelidonichthys obscurus (Bloch et Schneider, 1801) collected from the Mediterranean coasts (Tunisia and France). The new species is compared to Plectanocotyle gurnardi collected on Chelidonichthys gurnardus and the only other valid species in the genus Plectanocotyle. The new species differs from P. gurnardi by the clamp size (137 μm vs 64 μm for clamp length and 110 μm vs 60 μm for clamp width, respectively) and the length of the male copulatory organ (107 μm vs 144 μm, respectively). Species of the Plectanocotylidae seem to be characterized by an oioxenic specificity.