Morphological and molecular analyses of the taxonomy and phylogenetic position of(Monogenoidea: Diclidophoridae), a parasite of the gill lamellae of the Nile puffer,(Tetraodontiformes: Tetraodontidae) in Egypt.

Abstract

Specimens of the Nile puffer,Linnaeus (Tetraodontiformes: Tetraodontidae), were collected from the Nile River, Qena Governorate, Egypt (26°08'N, 32°42'E), and examined for monogenoidean parasites. A single species, initially identified asMorsy, Saady, Abdel-Gaffar, Bashtar, Melhorn, Al Quraishy & Adel, 2012 (Monogenoidea: Diclidophoridae), was recovered from the gill lamellae of six out of seven examined hosts (prevalence = 86%). The taxonomic and phylogenetic status of this helminth was reassessed using an integrative approach combining morphological and molecular data. Comparative morphological analysis revealed thatrepresented a junior subjective synonym ofEuzet & Birgi, 1975. Molecular analysis based on the 28S rDNA gene, representing the first inclusion ofas an ingroup taxon, placed this species within a well-supported clade ofspecies infecting tetraodontid fishes.Verma, 2022, a parasite of the goldband goatfish,(Bleeker) (Mulliformes: Mullidae), is herein transferred toUnnithan, 1966 as(Verma, 2022)The study highlighted the need for further investigation into the taxonomic status ofTripathi, 1959, andGupta & Krishna, 1980, as probable members ofMoreover,of Morsy et al. (Vidal Martinez & Mendoza-Franco) is regarded as a