Philometroides giginosantoroi n. sp. (Nematoda: Philometridae), a new muscle-infecting species in the Mediterranean moray (Muraena helena) revealed using integrative taxonomy
Alejandro López-Verdejo,
Flavia Occhibove,
Barbara degli Uberti,
Fabio Crocetta,
Mario Santoro
Affiliations
Alejandro López-Verdejo
Department of Integrative Marine Ecology, Stazione Zoologica Anton Dohrn, Villa Comunale 1, 80121 Naples, Italy Marine Zoology Unit, Cavanilles Institute of Biodiversity and Evolutionary Biology, University of Valencia, C/Catedrático José Beltrán 2, 46980 Paterna, Spain
Flavia Occhibove
Department of Integrative Marine Ecology, Stazione Zoologica Anton Dohrn, Villa Comunale 1, 80121 Naples, Italy
Barbara degli Uberti
Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale del Mezzogiorno, Via Salute 2, 80055 Portici, Italy
Fabio Crocetta
Department of Integrative Marine Ecology, Stazione Zoologica Anton Dohrn, Villa Comunale 1, 80121 Naples, Italy NBFC, National Biodiversity Future Center, Piazza Marina 61, 90133 Palermo, Italy
Department of Integrative Marine Ecology, Stazione Zoologica Anton Dohrn, Villa Comunale 1, 80121 Naples, Italy NBFC, National Biodiversity Future Center, Piazza Marina 61, 90133 Palermo, Italy
Philometroides Yamaguti, 1935 is a genus of dracunculoid nematodes of the family Philometridae Baylis & Daubney, 1926 comprising tissue-infecting species worldwide. In the present study, a new species of Philometroides is described from the Tyrrhenian Sea (central-western Mediterranean Sea) using integrative approaches such as light and scanning microscopy, histopathology and 18S rRNA sequencing. Philometroides giginosantoroi n. sp. found in the skeletal muscles of the Mediterranean moray Muraena helena can be distinguished from its congeners by a combination of morphological traits and in particular by having the oral aperture with 3 large sclerotized triangular oesophageal teeth. The molecular analyses and phylogenetic reconstructions support its status as a new taxon and placed it within a clade of tissue-infecting species, although also confirmed mismatches in the generic assignment of several species. Philometroides giginosantoroi n. sp. is the second species of the genus found in the Mediterranean Sea and in general in the European marine waters and the third species of the family known to infect the family Muraenidae.
