Authorship of the nominal family Gyrodactylidae has been inconsistently cited for more than a century, being generally attributed either to van Beneden Hesse (1863) or to Cobbold (1864). We evaluated the competing attributions under Article 11.7.2 of the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature. This provision allows a pre-1900 family-group name published in non-latinized form to retain its original authorship if it was later latinized and has been generally accepted as valid and as dating from the first publication in vernacular form. Van Beneden Hesse (1863) originally established the taxon under the French vernacular Gyrodactylidés. Shortly thereafter, Cobbold (1864) published the latinized form Gyrodactylidae. Review of the historical literature demonstrated persistent attribution to van Beneden Hesse (1863) across a broad range of taxonomic traditions and geographic regions, even while attribution to Cobbold (1864) has also continued. The conditions of Article 11.7.2 are satisfied, and the nominal family of the family-group should be cited as Gyrodactylidae Van Beneden Hesse, 1863. This clarification resolves a long-standing nomenclatural inconsistency that persists in both the primary literature and major taxonomic databases.
Parasitological studies on Cyphocharax spp. from different regions of South America, have recorded different species of Urocleidoides Mizelle Price, 1964 parasitizing their gills. To date, no parasites have been documented for Cyphocharax spilurus (Günther) from the Peruvian Amazonia. Thus, the main objective of the present study was to survey the monopisthocotylan parasites from the gills of C. spilurus collected in the Peruvian Amazonia. Twenty specimens of C. spilurus were collected from the Nanay River, Loreto, Peru. Parasites were removed from the gills using dissection needles and cleared in Hoyer’s medium for the study of sclerotized structures. Two new species were described: Urocleidoides nanayensis n. sp. characterized by the male copulatory organ consisting in an elongated sclerotized tube forming a loop-like reservoir at its base, and an articulated accessory piece bearing a multi-pronged terminal apparatus with hook-like projections. The vaginal sclerite is can-opener-shaped, and the haptor presents unequal ventral and dorsal anchors with poorly developed roots; hooks are arranged in seven pairs: pairs I and V share a similar shape with elongated filaments, while pairs II–IV and VI–VII are composed of two subunits with straight shanks and short filaments. Urocleidoides loretoensis n. sp. is characterized by the shape of the MCO, which consists in a knife-blade-shaped with a cone-shaped base and a smoothly arched, needle-tipped sclerotized tube, and an articulated accessory piece bearing a stippled central rod with a curved branch and fan-like membranous sheath. The vaginal sclerite is irregular, with a ventrally directed process, arched lamina, and recurved distal end. The haptor presents unequal ventral and dorsal anchors with poorly developed roots; the ventral bar is straight and robust while the dorsal bar is slender with a small mid-region projection. Hook pairs I and V are morphologically distinct from the remaining pairs (II–IV and VI–VII), which share an erect thumb, slightly curved shank, and short filament. The discovery of two new species of Urocleidoides brings the number of valid species in the genus to 67 and constitutes the first parasitological record for C. spilurus; it also represents the first species of the genus described in a curimatid host from the Peruvian Amazon.
Feather mites (Acariformes: Astigmata) are commonly regarded as harmless ectosymbionts of birds. In some cases, however, they may cause pathological conditions in their hosts. A new species of feather mite, Fainalges irritans sp. nov., is described from green-and-red macaws, Ara chloropterus Gray (Psittaciformes: Psittacidae) in Brazil, where it is associated with skin irritation and feather loss. An updated key to males and females of the genus Fainalges Gaud & Berla, 1963 is provided, and previous records of feather mites causing injuries in birds are briefly discussed.
A new coccidian species, Isospora melanotidis n. sp. from the blue mockingbird Melanotis caerulescens (Swainson), from Morelia, Michoacán State, Mexico. It is described and characterized molecularly. Sporulated oöcyst of the new species are subspherical, 25‒29 × 21‒25 (26.9 × 23.1) µm, (n = 30), with a length/width (L/W) ratio 1.0‒1.1 (1.04). Wall bi-layered 0.6‒1.1 (0.8) thick, clear outer and dark interior. One polar granule present, but micropyle and oöcyst residuum are absent, Sporocysts are ovoidal, measuring on average 14‒22 × 10‒13 (16.6 × 10‒13) µm, with a L/W ratio of 1.5; Stieda, sub-Stieda and para-Stieda bodies are present. A sporocyst residuum is present as a diffuse mass of granules. The 18S rRNA gene loci segment of Isospora sp., used for phylogenetic analysis by means of a maximum likelihood (ML) tree, revealed that Isospora sp., from M. caerulescens is distinct from Isospora sp., from Bewick’s Wren Thryomanes bewickii, with node support and bootstrap length of 91.5
The platyhelminth Microcotyle pomatomi Goto, 1899 was originally described from the gills of the bluefish, Pomatomus saltatrix (Linnaeus) collected in Newport, Rhode Island (USA). The original description was brief and lacked detailed morphological, anatomical, and molecular information. As a result, the species has long been the subject of several taxonomic studies, with historical records often attributed to different nominal taxa due to insufficient diagnostic features. In the present study, specimens of M. pomatomi were collected from the gills of Pomatomus saltatrix (Linnaeus) off the Algerian coast in the western Mediterranean, representing the first molecular characterization of this species in this region. Parasites were carefully examined, measured, and illustrated to provide a comprehensive morphological redescription. In parallel, molecular characterization was conducted using a partial fragment of the mitochondrial cox1 gene, and host identity was confirmed through analysis of gill tissue. The integration of morphological and molecular data allowed for a more precise identification and improved understanding of the species. The obtained cox1 sequence clearly supports the validity of M. pomatomi and distinguishes it from closely related congeners. Furthermore, our findings confirm the synonymy of several previously described species. Overall, this study clarifies the taxonomic status and phylogenetic position of M. pomatomi within the Microcotylidae.
