title: Electrocotyle whittingtoni n. gen., n. sp. (Monogenea: Monocotylidae: Heterocotylinae) from the gills of a captive onefin electric ray, Narke capensis (Narkidae) at Two Oceans Aquarium, Cape Town, South Africa.
abstract: Electrocotyle whittingtoni n. gen., n. sp. (Monogenea: Monocotylidae) is described from the gills of a captive female onefin electric ray, Narke capensis, collected for exhibition at Two Oceans Aquarium in Cape Town, South Africa. Electrocotyle n. gen. is most similar to the heterocotyline genera Heterocotyle and Potamotrygonocotyle but could not be accommodated easily in either of these groups. The new genus is characterised by a haptor with one central and eight peripheral loculi, four unsclerotised structures on the dorsal surface of the haptor, a single unsclerotised non-sinous ridge on the ventral surface of the haptoral septa, large hamuli with a long handle and reduced guard, a vagina with sclerotised walls, and tetrahedral eggs. Molecular phylogenetic analyses based on 28S sequences strongly support the separate genus status of Electrocotyle n. gen and thus support our morphological conclusion. The Heterocotylinae is amended to accommodate the new genus, and the new species is fully described and illustrated herein. This is the first record of a monocotylid from the Narkidae. Electrocotyle whittingtoni n. gen. n. sp. is considered potentially pathogenic given its negative impact on the health of its captive host kept in the quarantine facility at Two Oceans Aquarium.
authors.affiliation: Marine Parasitology Laboratory, Centre for Sustainable Tropical Fisheries and Aquaculture, College of Marine and Environmental Sciences, James Cook University, Queensland, 4810, Australia. david.vaughan@my.jcu.edu.au.|Aquatic Animal Health Research, Two Oceans Aquarium, P.O. Box 50603, Victoria and Alfred Waterfront, Cape Town, 8000, South Africa. david.vaughan@my.jcu.edu.au.
authors.forename: David B
authors.initials: DB
authors.lastname: Vaughan
authors.affiliation: Marine Parasitology Laboratory, School of Earth and Environmental Sciences (DX 650 418), The University of Adelaide, North Terrace, Adelaide, South Australia, 5005, Australia.|Monogenean Research Laboratory, Parasitology Section, The South Australian Museum, North Terrace, Adelaide, South Australia, 5000, Australia.
authors.forename: Leslie A
authors.initials: LA
authors.lastname: Chisholm
authors.affiliation: Section for Parasitology, Norwegian Veterinary Institute, P.O. Box 750 Sentrum, NO-0106, Oslo, Norway.
authors.forename: Haakon
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Hansen
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D005260:Female; D005393:Fish Diseases / Q000469:parasitology*; D005880:Gills / Q000469:parasitology; D009792:Oceans and Seas; D010802:Phylogeny; D013019:South Africa; D014101:Torpedo / Q000469:parasitology*; D014200:Trematoda / Q000145:classification / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D014201:Trematode Infections / Q000469:parasitology / Q000662:veterinary*
keywords: 28S; Electrocotyle whittingtoni; Heterocotylinae; Monocotylidae; Monogenea; Praziquantel; Public aquarium