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Symbiotic Siphonostomatoida (Copepoda) of the hammerhead shark species Sphyrna zygaena (Carcharhiniformes: Sphyrnidae) and stingray Dasyatis pastinaca  (Myliobatiformes: Dasyatidae) off the Canary Islands, with a re-description of  Pseudocharopinus pillaii Kabata, 1979

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Abstract

The biology, including accompanying ectoparasitic fauna, remains unstudied for several elasmobranchs off the Canary Islands in spite of concerns over their conservation. Within this region, this is the first report of copepod associations with these fishes. Twenty smooth hammerhead sharks, Sphyrna zygaena, and one common stingray, Dasyatis pastinaca, were inspected for symbionts on their body surface. Symbiotic siphonostomatoids were collected from 18 S. zygaena hosts and represent two different species, i.e., Alebion crassus (Caligidae) and Pandarus cranchii (Pandaridae). A high prevalence of 90% and a mean infection of 8.3 individuals per infected host were exhibited by A. crassus, while only a single P. cranchii was collected. Both these findings represent new geographical records. Additionally, one free-ranging common stingray Dasyatis pastinaca was opportunistically inspected and 11 Pseudocharopinus pillaii (Lernaeopodidae) collected which constitutes a new host record and a new geographical record. A re-description with detail regarding the morphology of the appendages is provided for the first time. Due to the morphological similarity between P. pillaii and P. malleus, a molecular analysis of the partial mitochondrial DNA cytochrome oxidase I gene was done in an attempt to determine if there is molecular divergence between the two species. This provided an estimate of the phylogenetic relationships amongst four Pseudocharopinus species (P. bicaudatus, P. pteromylaei, P. malleus, and P. pillaii) with Charopinus dubius as an outgroup as an alternative hypothesis to compare with the previous morphological topology estimated for all Pseudocharopinus species.

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Data availability

The datasets generated during and/or analyzed during the current study are available in the GenBank repository, https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov.

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Acknowledgements

We wish to thank O. Mustad & Son A.S. for providing research equipment and the General Secretary for Fisheries and the service from the Marine Reserve Isla Graciosa e islotes del norte de Lanzarote. Additionally, the University of Limpopo is acknowledged for laboratory support.

Funding

Partial financial support to ElasmoCan for field work was received from Loro Parque Fundación.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biodiversity, University of Limpopo, Sovenga, 0727, South Africa

    Susan M. Dippenaar & Tshepo Mangena

  2. ElasmoCan, Asociación Canaria Para la Investigación y Conservación de los Elasmobranquios, 35001, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Spain

    Kruspkaya Narváez & Filip Osaer

  3. Fundación Colombiana Para la Investigación y Conservación de Tiburones y Rayas, SQUALUS, Carrera 60A No 11-39, Cali, Colombia

    Kruspkaya Narváez & Filip Osaer

Authors
  1. Susan M. Dippenaar
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  2. Kruspkaya Narváez
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  3. Filip Osaer
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  4. Tshepo Mangena
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Contributions

SMD collected specimens used for molecular study, examined, dissected, drew, and identified the collected copepods and wrote the manuscript; KN and FO collected and quantified the copepods from elasmobranchs off the Canary Islands; and TM assisted with copepod collection in South Africa and did the molecular analysis. All authors contributed to the literature search and the final version of the manuscript.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Susan M. Dippenaar.

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Ethics approval

No approval of research ethics committees was required for the described sampling work in the Canary Islands according to Spanish law (Royal Decree 53/2013). Field sampling and specimen collection off the Canary Islands and genetic access to Pseudocharopinus pillaii off the Canary Islands, compliant with the Nagoya Protocol on Access to Genetic Resources, were done following the national legislation under administrative authorizations from the Spanish Ministry for the Ecologic Transition and the Demographic Challenge.

Conflict of interest

The authors declare no competing interests.

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Section Editor: Guillermo Salgado-Maldonado

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Dippenaar, S.M., Narváez, K., Osaer, F. et al. Symbiotic Siphonostomatoida (Copepoda) of the hammerhead shark species Sphyrna zygaena (Carcharhiniformes: Sphyrnidae) and stingray Dasyatis pastinaca  (Myliobatiformes: Dasyatidae) off the Canary Islands, with a re-description of  Pseudocharopinus pillaii Kabata, 1979. Parasitol Res 120, 3739–3747 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00436-021-07332-3

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