title: Three new species of Protogyrodactylus Johnston & Tiegs, 1922 (Monogenoidea: Dactylogyridae) from the gills of the longtail silverbiddy Gerres longirostris (Teleostei: Gerreidae) in the Red Sea.
abstract: Twenty-one specimens of the longtailed silverbiddy Gerres longirostris (Gerreidae) were examined for dactylogyrid parasites from the Nabq Managed Resource Protected Area, Ras Mohammed National Park (Red Sea) near Sharm El-Sheikh, South Sinai, Egypt. The diagnosis of Protogyrodactylus Johnston & Tiegs, 1922 was amended, and three new species, P. federicae n. sp., P. zullinii n. sp. and P. alatus n. sp., were recovered and described; the prevalence of each species was 100%. P. federicae most closely resembled P. alienus Bychowsky & Nagibina, 1974, but differed from it by possessing two anteromedial projections on the ventral bar, a claw-like ventral anchor sclerite and spatulate dorsal bars. P. zullini was most similar to P. quadratus Johnston & Tiegs, 1922, from which it differed by having a distal hook on the superficial root of the dorsal anchor, an evenly curved ventral anchor shaft and point, and a flange on the bulbous base of the male copulatory organ. P. alatus was closest to P. youngi Bychowsky & Nagibina, 1974, from which it differed by having delicate anchors and two prominent anteromedial processes on the ventral bar.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biotechnology and Biosciences, University of Milano-Bicocca, Piazza della Scienza 2, 20126 Milano, Italy.
authors.forename: Paolo
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Galli
authors.forename: Delane C
authors.initials: DC
authors.lastname: Kritsky
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D005393:Fish Diseases / Q000469:parasitology*; D005880:Gills / Q000469:parasitology; D019156:Indian Ocean; D010473:Perciformes / Q000469:parasitology*; D013045:Species Specificity; D014200:Trematoda / Q000033:anatomy & histology* / Q000145:classification*; D014201:Trematode Infections / Q000469:parasitology / Q000662:veterinary*