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A new gonad-infecting species of Philometra Costa, 1845 (Nematoda: Philometridae) from the marine fish Terapon jarbua (Forsskål) (Terapontidae) off the eastern coast of India

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Abstract

A new nematode species, Philometra terapontis n. sp. (Philometridae), is described from male and female specimens found in the ovary of the jarbua terapon Terapon jarbua (Forsskål) (Terapontidae, Perciformes) from the Bay of Bengal off the eastern coast of India. Based on light and scanning electron microscopical examination, the new species differs from most other gonad-infecting Philometra spp. in the length of the spicules (105–114 μm), a gubernaculum with dorsal, lamella-like structures and a distinct protuberance on its distal end, and a U-shaped, dorsally uninterrupted caudal mound in the male. From a few congeneric, gonad-infecting species with unknown males, it can be distinguished by morphological and biometrical features found in gravid females (i.e. length of body, length of first-stage larvae or oesophagus, and caudal structure), by the host type (fish family) and by the geographical distribution. Philometra terapontis is the first philometrid species reported from a fish belonging to the family Terapontidae. Philometra sawara Quiazon, Yoshinaga & Ogawa, 2008 is considered a junior synonym of P. scomberomori (Yamaguti, 1935). A key to gonad-infecting species of Philometra parasitising marine and brackish-water fishes is provided.

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Acknowledgements

We wish to express our thanks to the University Grants Commission, Government of India, New Delhi for financial support under Major Research Project (MRP) F.No.-39-568/2010. We would also like to express our gratitude to Prof. T. Balasubramanian, Dean, Faculty of Marine Sciences, for his constant encouragement and the facilities provided for the study. Thanks are also due to the staff of the Laboratory of Electron Microscopy, Institute of Parasitology, BC ASCR, at České Budějovice for their technical assistance, and to Blanka Škoríková of the same institute for the help with the illustrations. This study was partly supported by the research projects of the Institute of Parasitology, ASCR (Z60220518 and LC522).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Parasitology, Biology Centre of the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, Branišovská 31, 370 05, České Budějovice, Czech Republic

    František Moravec

  2. Faculty of Marine Sciences, Annamalai University, Parangipettai, 8066 502, Tamil Nadu, India

    Ayyaru Gopalakrishnan, Mayalagu Rajkumar, Ayyapan Saravanakumar & Sinduja Kaliyamoorthy

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  1. František Moravec
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  2. Ayyaru Gopalakrishnan
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  4. Ayyapan Saravanakumar
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  5. Sinduja Kaliyamoorthy
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Correspondence to František Moravec.

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Moravec, F., Gopalakrishnan, A., Rajkumar, M. et al. A new gonad-infecting species of Philometra Costa, 1845 (Nematoda: Philometridae) from the marine fish Terapon jarbua (Forsskål) (Terapontidae) off the eastern coast of India. Syst Parasitol 80, 23–33 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11230-011-9310-2

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