Three new species of Plagioporus Stafford, 1904 from darters (Perciformes: Percidae), with a redescription of Plagioporus boleosomi (Pearse, 1924) Peters, 1957

Phylogenetic position of deep-sea opecoelid digenean Tellervotrema beringi (Mamaev, 1965) (Trematoda: Opecoelidae) based on novel genetic data

Adult opecoelid digeneans consistent with Tellervotrema beringi (Mamaev, 1965) were found in the intestine of the deep-water fish Antimora microlepis Bean collected off the northern Kuril Islands (Russia). Earlier, T. beringi was recorded only in macrourid fish. This is the first record of a species of Tellervotrema Gibson & Bray, 1982 from fishes of the family Moridae (Gadiformes). A partial 28S rRNA gene sequence was obtained for this species and was compared with the available sequences on GenBank from other opecoelids. The phylogenetic analysis did not support the current taxonomic hypothesis that the genus Tellervotrema belongs to the subfamily Podocotylinae Dollfus, 1959. Our results demonstrated that species of this genus formed a clade with those of the genera Mesobathylebouria Martin, Huston, Cutmore & Cribb, 2019 and Abyssopedunculus Martin, Huston, Cutmore & Cribb, 2019. The morphological synapomorphies of the Tellervotrema + (Mesobathylebouria + Abyssopedunculus) clade are currently unclear, and this group does not have an adequate subfamilial classification.

A new subfamily for a clade of opecoelids (Trematoda: Digenea) exploiting marine fishes as second-intermediate hosts, with the first report of opecoelid metacercariae from an elasmobranch

Metacercariae of trematodes belonging to the family Opecoelidae were collected from small fishes of the Great Barrier Reef: a blenniid, two gobiids, two labrids, three pomacentrids, a monacanthid, an ostraciid and the epaulette shark, Hemiscyllium ocellatum. Sequences of the second internal transcribed spacer region (ITS2) of ribosomal DNA were generated from these metacercariae in an attempt to match them with adult worms. Three species of Allopodocotyle (Allopodocotyle epinepheli, Allopodocotyle heronensis and an unidentified species), two unidentified species of Hamacreadium and Pacificreadium serrani were detected. Among the Opecoelidae, these species all resolve to a single, phylogenetically and somewhat morphologically distinct clade. Species of this clade are the only known marine opecoelids to exploit fishes as second-intermediate hosts. The clade is proposed to warrant a new subfamily, the Hamacreadiinae subfam. nov. It includes Allopodocotyle, Bentholebouria, Cainocreadium, Choanotrema, Hamacreadium, Pacificreadium, Paraplagioporus, Pedunculacetabulum and Podocotyloides.

Intermediate host switches drive diversification among the largest trematode family: evidence from the Polypipapiliotrematinae n. subf. (Opecoelidae), parasites transmitted to butterflyfishes via predation of coral polyps

Podocotyloides stenometra Pritchard, 1966 (Digenea: Opecoelidae) is the only trematode known to infect anthozoan corals. It causes disease in coral polyps of the genus Porites Link (Scleractinia: Poritidae) and its life-cycle depends on ingestion of these polyps by butterflyfishes (Perciformes: Chaetodontidae). This species has been reported throughout the Indo-Pacific, from the Seychelles to the Galápagos, but no study has investigated whether multiple species are involved. Here, we recollect P. stenometra from its type-host and type-locality, in Hawaiian waters, and describe four new species from examination of 768 butterflyfishes from French Polynesia. On the basis of morphology, phylogeny and life-history, we propose Polypipapiliotrema Martin, Cutmore & Cribb n. gen. and the Polypipapiliotrematinae Martin, Cutmore & Cribb n. subf., for P. stenometra (Pritchard) n. comb., P. citerovarium Martin, Cutmore & Cribb n. sp., P. hadrometra Martin, Cutmore & Cribb n. sp., P. heniochi Martin, Cutmore & Cribb n. sp., and P. ovatheculum Martin, Cutmore & Cribb n. sp. Given the diversity uncovered here and the ubiquity, abundance and diversity of butterflyfishes on coral reefs, we predict that Polypipapiliotrema will prove to comprise a rich complex of species causing disease in corals across the Indo-Pacific. The unique life-cycle of these taxa is consistent with phylogenetic distinction of the group and provides evidence for a broader basis of diversification among the family. We argue that life-cycle specialisation, in terms of adoption of disparate second intermediate host groups, has been a key driver of the diversification and richness of the Opecoelidae, the largest of all trematode families and the group most frequently encountered in coral reef fishes.

Records of opecoeline species Pseudopecoelus cf. vulgaris and Anomalotrema koiae Gibson & Bray, 1984 (Trematoda, Opecoelidae, Opecoelinae) from fish of the North Pacific, with notes on the phylogeny of the family Opecoelidae

Opecoelid species Pseudopecoelus cf. vulgaris and Anomalotrema koiae Gibson & Bray, 1984 were found in fish collected in the boreal waters of the North Pacific. Pseudopecoelus cf. vulgaris differs from Pseudopecoelus vulgaris (Manter, 1934) in terms of the egg size. This is the first record of A. koiae in the North Pacific, and the second of Pseudopecoelus cf. vulgaris. Previously, A. koiae was recorded only in North Atlantic fish. Partial sequences of 28S rDNA obtained for these two species and six other previously unsequenced representatives of the family Opecoelidae were analysed together with data from GenBank. Phylogenetic analysis supports the allocation of the six clades of opecoelids - Helicometrinae, Opecoelinae, Opistholebetinae, 'freshwater Plagioporinae', 'marine Plagioporinae B' and 'marine Plagioporinae C', and confirms the paraphyly of the group 'deep-sea Plagioporinae'. Our phylogeny does not support previous hypotheses about the monophyly of opecoelines with a uroproct.

Two New Species of Plagioporus (Digenea: Opecoelidae) from the Ouachita Madtom, Noturus lachneri, and the Banded Sculpin, Cottus carolinae, from Arkansas

Plagioporus ictaluri n. sp. and Plagioporus carolini n. sp. are described from the intestines of the Ouachita Madtom, Noturus lachneri, and the Banded Sculpin, Cottus carolinae, respectively, from adjacent drainages in Arkansas. The new species are morphologically most similar to one another and in turn similar to Plagioporus sinitsini, Plagioporus chiliticorum, Plagioporus serratus, and Plagioporus hypentelii, but they can be distinguished from these congeners in possession of an excretory vesicle that extends anteriorly to the level of the anterior testis as opposed to 1 reaching only the posterior testis ( P. hypentelii) or 1 confined to the posttesticular space ( P. sinitsini, P. serratus, and P. chiliticorum), a feature that necessitates altering the generic diagnosis for the genus. Plagioporus ictaluri n. sp. is distinguished from Plagioporus carolini n. sp. in having tandem vs. oblique testes, a submedian to median ovary as opposed to 1 that is dextral, a ventral sucker occupying 53-71% of the body width (BW) vs. 80-92% of the BW, an oral sucker occupying 36-47% of the BW as opposed to 49-58% of the BW, and a pharynx occupying 21-26% of the BW compared to 28-36% of the BW. A Bayesian inference analysis of partial 28S rDNA sequences of the 2 new species and those of 34 opecoelids obtained from GenBank found that P. ictaluri and P. carolini formed a highly supported clade that was sister to P. chiliticorum and in turn to P. sinitsini. These 4 species are notably the only Nearctic plagioporids included in the analysis without a uterus extending to the posterior end that lack a confluent vitelline field in the posttesticular space. This study includes the first species of Plagioporus to be described from an ictalurid host and the first species in the genus to be described from a cottid east of the Rocky Mountains.