A new genus of Rhinebothriidea from species of Psammobatis (Rajiformes, Arhynchobatidae) off Argentina.

SEBASTIÁN FRANZESE; VERÓNICA IVANOV

Rostock

Workshop; 9o International Workshop for Cestode Systematics and Phylogeny; 2017

Universidad de Rostock, Alemania

Rhinebothriideans are parasites of a wide array of batoids (i.e., Myliobatiformes, Rajiformes, Rhinopristiformes and Torpediniformes). The order is cosmopolitan in distribution, with a great diversity in tropical and subtropical regions, having some genera a particular affinity for cooler waters. During a parasitological survey along the coast of Argentina, 4 species of the arrhynchobatid genus Psammobatis were caught in different locations: P. normani and P. extenta off Buenos Aires Province, and P. rudis and P. bergi off Tierra del Fuego Province. Psammobatis normani and P. rudis harbored a particular species of a new genus of Rhinebothriidae. Specimens of the new genus can be identified by having a unique pattern of septa and loculi on the distal bothridial surface, including a central region with semicircular septa. It can also be distinguished from all other described genera in Rhinebothriidea by a combination of several morphological features. The species collected from P. normani and P. rudis can be differentiated from one another by features including the number of bothridial loculi, the shape of the cirrus sac and byslight differences in the microthrix pattern. Only a few specimens of P. bergi and P. extenta have been examined so far. We expect to find more representatives of the new genus as the sample size of the different species of Psammobatis increase.