Three Dendromonocotyle species (Monogenea: Monocotylidae) reported from captive rays, including D. lotteri sp. n. from Himantura gerrardi (Elasmobranchii: Dasyatidae) in the public aquarium at the Atlantis resort, Dubai

Abstract

Dendromonocotyle lotteri sp. n. is described from the dorsal skin surface of the stingray Himantura gerrardi (Gray) on exhibit in the public aquarium at the Atlantis resort in Dubai. It is differentiated from all other Dendromonocotyle species by the unique morphology of the distal portion of the sclerotised male copulatory organ. Dendromonocotyle lotteri is the second representative in the genus with 56 marginal haptoral papillae having a papillae to loculus association represented numerically as 6-6-8-8. We found Dendromonocotyle colorni Chisholm, Whittington et Kearn, 2001 on the same host specimens at the Atlantis resort public aquarium and Dendromonocotyle kuhlii Young, 1967 on Neotrygon kuhlii (Müller et Henle) kept at Burgers' Zoo Aquarium in Arnhem, The Netherlands. Supplemental information is provided for both D. colorni and D. kuhlii. The presence of Dendromonocotyle infections in public aquaria and host specifi city are discussed. A key to the 17 species of Dendromonocotyle is also provided.

Marine fish parasitology in South Africa: history of discovery and future direction

“…The first was when Bray (1985) named a new genus of digenean for Prof. Overstreet, Overstreetia sodwanaensis Bray, 1985, a parasite of the wide-banded hardyhead silverside, Pranesus pinguis (now Atherinomorus lacunosus) from Sodwana on the South African east coast. In their second paper Bullard et al (2004) (Vaughan et al 2008;Vaughan and Chisholm 2009). A year later Vaughan and Chisholm (2010a) described Heterocotyle tokoloshei Vaughan and Chisholm, 2010 from the gills of a single short-tail stingray, Dasyatis brevicaudata, kept in captivity at the Two Oceans Aquarium in Cape Town, South Africa.…”

A new species of Neoheterocotyle Hargis, 1955 (Monogenea: Monocotylidae) from the gills of Rhinobatos annulatus Müller & Henle (Rhinobatidae) off the southern tip of Africa

“…Monocotylid monogeneans are parasites of the skin, gills, nasal tissue, urogenital system and wall of the body-cavity of elasmobranchs (Chisholm et al, 1995). These parasites are generally encountered in low intensities on wildcaught fishes but some monocotylids can be problematic on captive hosts (Janse & Borgsteede, 2003;Vaughan et al, 2008;Vaughan & Chisholm, 2009. Left uncontrolled, large numbers of feeding monocotylids can damage host tissue leading to disease and, in some cases, even death of the host fish (see Vaughan & Chisholm, 2010).…”

Two thousand parasites on a single ray: An infection with two species of skin monogeneans on a blotched fantail ray kept in an aquarium

“…Reports of Dendromonocotyle spp. infections in aquaria are increasing internationally (Vaughan and Chisholm 2009) and have been responsible for skin damage and disease in stingrays kept in captivity. We report here an infection on a blotched fantail ray, which was exceptional in two ways: two species of monogeneans were involved, and almost 2,000 monogenean specimens were counted.…”

“…Records of capsalid monogeneans from New Caledonia include several species from teleost fishes (Justine 2005, Hinsinger and Justine 2006, Perkins et al 2009), but this is the first capsalid recorded from a ray. Dendromonocotyle Hargis, 1955 currently includes 17 species Whittington 2004, 2009;Vaughan and Chisholm 2009). D. pipinna Chisholm et Whittington, 2004 has been described from the skin of T. meyeni born in captivity in an aquarium in Queensland, Australia.…”

“…However, the literature only reports small numbers for capsalids on rays (Kearn 1978, Whittington andKearn 2009b), monocotylids on rays (Euzet and Maillard 1967, Chisholm et al 2001, Chisholm and Whittington 2005, or capsalids on teleost fish (Ogawa 1984, Horton and Whittington 1994, Kritsky and Fennessy 1999, with a maximum reported of 400 Benedenia lutjani (Whittington et Kearn, 1993) on an aquarium specimen of Lutjanus carponotatus (Richardson, 1842) (Whittington and Kearn 1993). Most descriptions of the currently known Dendromonocotyle species , Vaughan and Chisholm 2009) indicate that monogeneans were "numerous" without indicating precise figures. We believe that the present report is the first to precisely quantify the intensity of infection in a captive ray.…”