Ancyrocephaline monogeneans of the genera Chauhanellus and Hamatopeduncularia from the gills of the blue catfish, Arius graeffei, in the Brisbane River and Moreton Bay, Queensland, Australia, with descriptions of four new species.
At least six ancyrocephaline monogeneans, four of which are new species, are reported from the gills of the blue catfish, Arius graeffei, in the Brisbane area, Queensland, Australia, namely Chauhanellus australis (Young, 1967) Bychowsky & Nagibina, 1969, Chauhanellus youngi new species, Hamatopeduncularia pearsoni new species, Hamatopeduncularia brisbanensis Young, 1967, Hamatopeduncularia major new species and Hamatopeduncularia spiralis new species. H. major has been found so far only on catfishes from the Brisbane River (freshwater) and C. youngi and H. brisbanensis only on catfishes from Moreton Bay (salt water). H. spiralis is described from river catfishes; a similar, possibly identical parasite occurs on bay catfishes. Young's paratypes of H. brisbanensis were found to include specimens of H. pearsoni new species. Additional observations were made on the anatomy and biology of C. australis and H. brisbanensis, with special attention being paid to the haptor glands. New light is shed on the function of the marginal-hooklet-bearing haptoral tentacles of Hamatopeduncularia spp. and on the status of these tentacles in taxonomic studies. Possible evolutionary trends in these gill parasites are suggested. Consideration is given to salinity tolerances by the parasites, to possible age-related changes in host susceptibility and to genetic differences between catfishes, as explanations for differences in the distribution of these parasites on large and small hosts and on hosts from the Brisbane River and from Moreton Bay.
Kearn
G C
GC
School of Biological Sciences, University of East Anglia, Norwich, U.K.
Whittington
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ID
D000818:Animals; D002397:Catfishes / Q000469:parasitology*; D005393:Fish Diseases / Q000469:parasitology*; D005880:Gills / Q000469:parasitology*; D011793:Queensland; D014200:Trematoda / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000145:classification*; D014201:Trematode Infections / Q000469:parasitology / Q000662:veterinary*