Pseudorhabdosynochus inversus sp. nov. (Monogenea, Diplectanidae) from the halfmoon grouper Epinephelus rivulatus (Perciformes, Serranidae) off New Caledonia

Abstract

Pseudorhabdosynochus inversus sp. nov. is described from three specimens found in a halfmoon grouper, Epinephelus rivulatus, from the external slope of the barrier reef, New Caledonia, South Pacific. The new species is characterised by the structure of its sclerotised vagina, which resembles that of P. epinepheli (Yamaguti, 1938) but has its primary chamber inverted, and by its measurements. The diplectanid fauna of E. rivulatus shows the same pattern as in other groupers, probably belonging to a clade in which fish species harbour both an abundant species of the 'Pseudorhabdosynochus cupatus group' (here P. calathus Hinsinger et Justine, 2006) and a rare species (here P. inversus). RésuméPseudorhabdosynochus inversus sp. nov. est décrit de trois spécimens trouvés chez un mérou demi-lune, Epinephelus rivulatus, de la pente externe du récif barriPre, Nouvelle-Calédonie, Pacifique Sud. La nouvelle espPce est caractérisée par la structure de son vagin sclérifié, qui ressemble B celui de P. epinepheli (Yamaguti, 1938) mais a sa chambre primaire inversée, et par ses mensurations. La faune des Diplectanidae de E. rivulatus montre le mLme patron que chez d'autres mérous, probablement appartenant B un clade, chez lesquels les espPces de poissons hébergent B la fois une espPce abondante du groupe 'Pseudorhabdosynochus cupatus' (ici P. calathus Hinsinger et Justine, 2006) et une espPce rare (ici P. inversus).

Resolution of the discrepant host-specificity of Pseudorhabdosynochus species (Monogenea, Diplectanidae) from serranid fishes in the tropical Indo-Pacific

“…Laird (1958) and Hinsinger and Justine (2005b) reported prevalences of 100% and 97% in Vanuatu and New Caledonia, respectively. At this stage, two facts were apparent: (a) P. cupatus had two hosts, E. merra and E. fasciatus, and (b) E. merra had a monogenean fauna which changed drastically according to locality, with P. cupatus and P. vagampullum in Australia vs P. melanesiensis in Vanuatu, Fiji and New Caledonia. These two facts appeared outstanding: (a) the relatively wide specificity of P. cupatus contrasted with the numerous observations by Justine (2005aJustine ( , b, 2007Justine ( , 2008Justine ( , 2009) on the Pseudorhabdosynochus fauna of New Caledonia, showing that species of this genus were generally strictly specific, with a single host; and (b) the drastic change of monogenean fauna in a species of marine fish according to the locality had apparently no equivalent in the literature. Justine (2005a) and Zeng and Yang (2007) questioned the validity of fish identification in Young's work.…”

“…They found that several species of the cupatus group were found in several Epinephelus spp., and that these fish species were related. Recent descriptions of new species confirm that a monophyletic group of groupers (Craig and Hastings 2007) harbours a series of Pseudorhabdosynochus of the cupatus group, and also other species (Justine 2008, Justine andVignon 2009).…”

Pseudorhabdosynochus quadratus n. sp. (Monogenea: Diplectanidae) from the white-streaked grouper Epinephelus ongus (Bloch) (Perciformes: Serranidae) off New Caledonia

“…For the same reason, i.e. the rarity of both fish and parasite, Justine (2008) described Pseudorhabdosynochus inversus Justine, 2008 from only three worms collected from a single specimen of the rare grouper E. rivulatus (Valenciennes). Diplectanids of groupers are generally species-specific and the structure of the sclerotised vagina of P. quadratus n. sp.…”

“…Ventral and dorsal bars are distinctively longer in Berlese preparation than in live or carmine-stained specimens (Justine & Henry, 2010;Schoelinck & Justine, 2011); differences do not denote intraspecific variation but the different methods of preparation. The description of the rodlets rows are as in Justine (2008). All measurements are in micrometres.…”

Neolebouria blatta n. sp. (Digenea: Opecoelidae) from Pristipomoides argyrogrammicus (Valenciennes) and Etelis carbunculus Cuvier (Perciformes: Lutjanidae) off New Caledonia

“…Only a few isopods (Trilles & Justine, 2004, nematodes (Petter & Le Bel, 1992;Moravec & Justine, 2007), cestodes (Beveridge & Justine, 2006Kuchta, et al, 2009) and monogeneans (Justine, 2008a(Justine, , b, 2009 have been reported from deep water off New Caledonia. In this paper we describe a common and abundant new opecoelid species in a deep water lutjanid, the ornate jobfish Pristipomoides argyrogrammicus (Valenciennes).…”