title: Two new species of Elopicola (Digenea: Aporocotylidae) from Hawaiian ladyfish, Elops hawaiensis (Eastern Sea) and Atlantic tarpon, Megalops atlanticus (Gulf of Mexico) with a comment on monophyly of elopomorph blood flukes.
abstract: Elopicola bristowi sp. n. infects the blood vascular system of Hawaiian ladyfish, Elops hawaiensis, in the Eastern Sea. It differs from the only nominal congener Elopicola nolancribbi by the combination of having rows of ventrolateral tegumental spines, a proportionally long oesophagus, anterior caeca, vasa efferentia coalescing ventral to the posterodextral margin of the testis, a post-testicular metraterm, a dextral common genital pore lateral to the oötype, and genitalia that are enantiomorphic relative to those of E. nolancribbi. Elopicola franksi sp. n. infects the heart and blood vascular system of Atlantic tarpon, Megalops atlanticus, in the Gulf of Mexico. It differs from its congeners by the combination of lacking ventrolateral tegumental spines and having an elongate body (6× longer than wide), a proportionally long oesophagus, a compact testis at level of the distal ends of the posterior caeca, and a post-testicular common genital pore at level of the oötype. Phylogenetic analyses based on the small subunit ribosomal DNA (18S), large subunit ribosomal DNA (28S), and internal transcribed spacer 2 (ITS2) genes revealed considerable genetic differences between these taxa. The 18S+28S tree showed a monophyletic Elopicola sister to all aporocotylids infecting fishes of Euteleosteomorpha. The ITS2 tree showed Paracardicoloides yamagutii as the sister taxon to Elopicola spp.
authors.affiliation: Southeastern Cooperative Fish Parasite and Disease Laboratory (SCFPDL) and Aquatic Parasitology Laboratory (APL), School of Fisheries, Aquaculture, and Aquatic Sciences, College of Agriculture, Auburn University, 203 Swingle Hall, Auburn, AL 36849, USA.
authors.forename: Raphael
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Orélis-Ribeiro
authors.affiliation: Molette Biology Laboratory for Environmental and Climate Change Studies (MBL), Department of Biological Sciences, Auburn University, 101 Rouse Life Sciences Bldg., Auburn, AL 36849, USA.
authors.forename: Kenneth M
authors.initials: KM
authors.lastname: Halanych
authors.affiliation: Nha Trang University, Department of Biology, Institute for Biotechnology and Environment, 02 Nguyen Dinh Chieu Street, Nha Trang City, Vietnam.
authors.forename: Binh T
authors.initials: BT
authors.lastname: Dang
authors.affiliation: Fish and Wildlife Health Group, Fish and Wildlife Research Institute (FWRI), Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, 100 8th Avenue Southeast, St. Petersburg, FL 33701-5020, USA.
authors.forename: Micah D
authors.initials: MD
authors.lastname: Bakenhaster
authors.affiliation: Southeastern Cooperative Fish Parasite and Disease Laboratory (SCFPDL) and Aquatic Parasitology Laboratory (APL), School of Fisheries, Aquaculture, and Aquatic Sciences, College of Agriculture, Auburn University, 203 Swingle Hall, Auburn, AL 36849, USA.
authors.forename: Cova R
authors.initials: CR
authors.lastname: Arias
authors.affiliation: Southeastern Cooperative Fish Parasite and Disease Laboratory (SCFPDL) and Aquatic Parasitology Laboratory (APL), School of Fisheries, Aquaculture, and Aquatic Sciences, College of Agriculture, Auburn University, 203 Swingle Hall, Auburn, AL 36849, USA. Electronic address: ash.bullard@auburn.edu.
authors.forename: Stephen A
authors.initials: SA
authors.lastname: Bullard
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D021903:DNA, Ribosomal Spacer / Q000235:genetics; D005393:Fish Diseases / Q000469:parasitology*; D005399:Fishes / Q000469:parasitology*; D060851:Gulf of America / Q000453:epidemiology; D006254:Hawaii; D010802:Phylogeny; D012337:RNA, Ribosomal, 18S / Q000235:genetics; D012339:RNA, Ribosomal, 28S / Q000235:genetics; D016415:Sequence Alignment; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA; D014200:Trematoda / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000145:classification* / Q000235:genetics* / Q000302:isolation & purification; D014201:Trematode Infections / Q000662:veterinary*
chemical_list: D021903:DNA, Ribosomal Spacer; D012337:RNA, Ribosomal, 18S; D012339:RNA, Ribosomal, 28S
keywords: Cophyly; Evolution; Fish blood flukes; Systematics; Taxonomy