Publication details
New discovery and phylogenetic position of Salsuginus parasite (Monogenea: Dactylogyridae) in Western mosquitofish (Gambusia affinis)
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| Year of publication | 2024 |
| Type | Conference abstract |
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| Description | The Western mosquitofish, Gambusia affinis (Baird and Girard, 1853), belonging to Poeciliidae, is naturally found across the Mississippi and Gulf Coast drainages in North America. However, it has been widely introduced globally to control mosquito-borne diseases. In our study, we document the presence of a commonly distributed dactylogyrid monogenean, Salsuginus seculus (Mizelle and Arcadi, 1945) Murith and Beverley-Burton, 1985, parasitizing G. affinis in the North Fork Guadalupe River in Texas, USA. This species exhibits high host specificity and is predominantly associated with G. affinis. Our discovery marks the fourth recorded instance of S. seculus in Texas. The meristic characteristics of S. seculus largely coincide with those observed in previous studies conducted in Texas. However, we observed intraspecific variability when comparing our findings with type-material collected from the Western USA, as well as with specimens of S. seculus found to parasitize non-indigenous G. affinis in Japan. Analysis of 28S rDNA sequences places Salsuginus as a sister taxon to a monophyletic group of dactylogyrids (Gussevia, Sciadicleithrum, and Parasciadicleithrum) associated with Neotropical Cichlidae. This group likely originated from the Great American Biotic Interchange facilitated by the closure of the Panama Isthmus, which promoted the mixing of diverse freshwater fish lineages. Our study emphasizes the importance of investigating the potential co-introduction of monogeneans along with G. affinis into new freshwater systems and its impact on native fish populations. |
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