Expanding on expansus: a new species of Scaphanocephalus from North America and the Caribbean based on molecular and morphological data.

ABSTRACT: Members of the genus Scaphanocephalus mature in accipitrids, particularly osprey, Pandion haliaetus, with metacercaria causing Black Spot Syndrome in reef fishes. In most of the world, only the type species, Scaphanocephalus expansus (Creplin, 1842) has been reported. Recent molecular studies in the Western Atlantic, Mediterranean and Persian Gulf reveal multiple species of Scaphanocephalus, but have relied on 28S rDNA, mainly from metacercariae, which limits both morphological identification and resolution of closely related species. Here we combine nuclear rDNA with mitochondrial sequences from adult worms collected in osprey across North America and the Caribbean to describe species and elucidate life cycles in Scaphanocephalus. A new species described

SUBMITTER: Locke SA 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11474018 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature