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Keywords:

Animals, Base Sequence, DNA, Helminth, DNA, Ribosomal Spacer, Female, Gills, Male, Microscopy, Electron, Scanning, Microscopy, Phase-Contrast, Molecular Sequence Data, Perciformes, Phylogeny, RNA, Ribosomal, 5.8S, Sequence Alignment, Sequence Analysis, DNA, Statistics, Nonparametric, Trematoda, Science & Technology, Life Sciences & Biomedicine, Parasitology, OPISTHAPTORAL HARD PARTS, MOLECULAR MARKERS, PLATYHELMINTHES, PARASITE, SPECIATION, DERJAVINI, ARCUATUS, SALARIS, SPP., RDNA, 0605 Microbiology, 0608 Zoology, 0707 Veterinary Sciences, Mycology & Parasitology, 3009 Veterinary sciences, 3109 Zoology

Abstract:

Four Gyrodactylus species parasitising four closely related gobiid species in European coastal waters were studied and compared with G. arcuatus Bychowsky sensu Bychowsky & Poljansky (1953) from Gasterosteus aculatus . These were G. gondae n. sp. from Pomatoschistus minutus and P. lozanoi , G. flavescensis n. sp. from Gobiusculus flavescens , G. arcuatoides n. sp. from P. minutus and G. branchialis n. sp. from P. microps. Combined molecular and morphological analyses, as well as morphometric and statistical methods, were used. The ssrRNA V4 region and the complete ITS rDNA region were sequenced. Genetically the four new species are clearly distinct from G. arcuatus . From a morphological point of view, the haptoral hard parts of G. gondae n. sp., G. flavescensis n. sp. and G. arcuatoides n. sp. are related to those of G. arcuatus, while these parts of G. branchialis n. sp. are different, but related to those of G. quadratidigitus Longshaw, Pursglove & Shinn, 2003. For the latter two species, a new species group is formed. The V4 and ITS sequence analyses, however, indicate a close relationship between G. branchialis and the three G. arcuatus-like species.