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Two new marine species of Rhinebothrium (Cestoda: Rhinebothriidea) from stingrays from the Persian Gulf and Gulf of Oman

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  10 February 2025

S. Omrani ,
K. Golzarianpour ,
M. Malek Open the ORCID record for M. Malek [Opens in a new window] ,
M. Golestaninasab  and
Marjan Seiedy
S. Omrani
Affiliation:
School of Biology and Center of Excellence in Phylogeny of Living Organisms, College of Sciences, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran
K. Golzarianpour
Affiliation:
Department of Biology, Faculty of Sciences and Engineering, Gonbad Kavous University, Golestan, Iran
M. Malek*
Affiliation:
School of Biology and Center of Excellence in Phylogeny of Living Organisms, College of Sciences, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran Department of Biological Sciences, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, Canada
M. Golestaninasab
Affiliation:
Department of Biology, Faculty of Sciences, Semnan University, Semnan, Iran
Marjan Seiedy
Affiliation:
School of Biology and Center of Excellence in Phylogeny of Living Organisms, College of Sciences, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran
*
Corresponding author: M. Malek; Email: [email protected], [email protected]
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Abstract

The genus Rhinebothrium (Cestoda: Rhinebothriidea) comprises tapeworm species parasitizing elasmobranch hosts, particularly batoids. Despite numerous recent findings regarding the ecological importance of marine fish parasites throughout the world, the biodiversity of cestodes inhabiting fishes of the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman remains understudied. Here, two new species of Rhinebothrium from stingrays from the Persian Gulf and Gulf of Oman are described: Rhinebothrium gossi sp. nov. and Rhinebothrium palmeri sp. nov. from Maculabatis arabica and Maculabatis randalli, respectively. However, each new cestode species is found with a lower frequency in the other host species, too. These new species were already subjected to a molecular analysis and the revealed genetic distinctiveness requires detailed morphological examinations at the species level. A combination of morphomeristic characteristics including body size, scolex features, proglottid morphology, and reproductive structures distinguish the new species from the other congeners. Although these new species are morphologically similar, however, they differ from each other in the number of testes (6–8 and 8–14), and bothridial loculi (50 and 42 in R. gossi sp. nov. and R. palmeri sp. nov., respectively). These findings contribute to our understanding of marine cestode diversity and underscore the importance of further research in this ecologically significant region.

Keywords

DasyatidaeMaculabatis randalliMaculabatis arabicaRhinebothrium gossi sp. novRhinebothrium palmeri sp. nov
Type
Research Paper
Information
Journal of Helminthology , Volume 99 , 2025 , e18
Copyright
© The Author(s), 2025. Published by Cambridge University Press

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