Morphological and Molecular Characterization of Two Species of Ligophorus (Monogenea: Ancyrocephalidae) in Mullets from the Yucatan Peninsula, with Comments on the Geographical Distribution of L. mediterraneus.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Ligophorus Euzet and Suriano, 1977 is a specious genus of ancyrocephalid monogeneans parasitizing mullets around the world, with most species distributed in the western Pacific and the Mediterranean Sea. Only nine out of the 62 species in the genus have been reported from the Americas, and from them, only two have been sequenced.

Methods

We analyzed two species of Mugil (L.) from Northern Yucatán Peninsula. Specimens of Ligophorus were sampled from the gills of their hosts. The morphology of the specimens was examined. In addition, 28S and ITS rDNA sequences were obtained and compared with previous sequences downloaded from GenBank.

Results

We discovered two species of Ligophorus using morphological and molecular characters, L. mediterraneus, parasitizing t

SUBMITTER: Andrade-Gomez L 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11761990 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature