Diversity of larval stages of the family Gryporhynchidae (Cestoda: Cyclophyllidea) in cichlid fish (Perciformes: Cichlidae) from southern Africa
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| Year of publication | 2016 |
| Type | Conference abstract |
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| Description | Tapeworms of the family Gryporhynchidae (Cestoda: Cyclophyllidea) are cosmopolitan parasites of fish-eating birds such as herons, ibises and cormorants. Gryporhynchids are unique among cyclophyllidean cestodes in using fish as their second intermediate hosts; planktonic crustaceans (copepods) serve as the first intermediate hosts. Even though the first species currently placed in this family, Paradilepis scolecina, was described as early as in 1819, the present knowledge of the taxonomy, life cycles and ecology of gryporhynchids and pathogenic influence of larvae on their fish hosts is rather limited. In this study, gryporhynchid larvae (metacestodes) found in cichlids from three African states (Burundi, South Africa and Zimbabwe) have been studied. Based on the size and shape of rostellar hooks, the following nine species of five genera have been recognised (species marked with an asterisk are reported from fish for the first time): Amirthalingamia macracantha (Joyeux et Baer, 1935), Neogryporhynchus lasiopeius* Baer et Bona, 1960, Paradilepis delachauxi (Fuhrmann, 1909), Paradilepis scolecina* (Rudolphi, 1819), Paradilepis maleki* Khalil, 1961, Parvitaenia samfyia Mettrick, 1967, Parvitaenia* sp., Valipora campylancristrota* (Wedl, 1855) and Valipora minuta* (Coil, 1950); most of these species are also reported from Africa for the first time. A phylogenetic analysis of newly obtained 28rRNA gene sequences of seven species of four genera revealed monophyly of all genera represented by more than one species. The present study indicates still poorly described species diversity of gryporhynchid larvae in freshwater fish in Africa. |
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