Saccocoelioides kirchneri n. sp. (Digenea: Haploporidae) from the killifish Cnesterodon decemmaculatus (Cyprinodontiformes: Poeciliidae) from Argentina, morphological and molecular description

Abstract

This paper presents a new haploporid digenean that expands the number of species of Saccoccoelioides to 27. The new species, Saccocoelioides kirchneri n. sp. was collected from the intestine of Cnesterodon decemmaculatus (Poeciliidae: Cyprinodontiformes) from Lago del Bosque, La Plata, Argentina. The new species possesses the diagnostic features for Saccocoelioides: a sac like ceca; the vitellarium confined in two irregular groups of follicles distributed between the ventral sucker and the anterior margin of the testis; and a uterus confined largely in the hind-body, but encroaching into the range of the ventral sucker. The new species is differentiated from the 26 congeners by the body size, pharynx size, ventral sucker size, posterior extent of ceca, posterior extent of uterus and egg size. S. kirchneri n. sp. also is supported by the molecular analysis.

Keywords: Argentina; Cnesterodon; Haploporidae; La Plata; Saccocoelioides; genetics; morphology.