Abstract
A new fish leech Ceratobdella quadricornuta n. g., n. sp. (Hirudinida: Piscicolidae), a parasite of the Antarctic skate Raja georgiana Norman (Rajiformes: Rajidae) collected between the Falkland Islands and South Georgia Island in the Scotia Sea, is described and compared with related genera. Ceratobdella quadricornuta is characterised by an uncommon appearance of its anterior sucker bearing four well-developed tentacles and a unique combination of features of the reproductive and digestive systems: crop and intestine equally developed, posterior crop caeca separated; accessory glands, conductive tissue and external copulatory area lacking; common part of ejaculatory ducts (common atrium) voluminous and muscular, male copulatory bursa short, small ovisacs opening into female copulatory bursa (vagina).
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Bargelloni, L., Marcato, S., Zane, L., & Patarnello, T. (2000). Mitochondrial phylogeny of Notothenioids: A molecular approach to Antarctic fish evolution and biogeography. Systematic Biology, 49, 114–129.
Brinkmann, A. (1948). Some new and remarkable leeches from the Antarctic seas. Scientific Results of the Norwegian Antarctic Expeditions, 1927–1928, 29, 1–12.
Eastman, J. T., & Grande, L. (1989). Evolution of the Antarctic fish fauna with emphasis on the Recent notothenioids. Geological Society (London) Special Publications, 47, 241–252.
Eastman, J. T., & McCune, A. R. (2000). Fishes on the Antarctic continental shelf: evolution of a marine species flock? Journal of Fish Biology, 57 (Supplement A), 84–102.
Epshtein, V. M., Utevsky, A. Y., & Utevsky, A. Y. (1994). The system of fish leeches (Hirudinea: Piscicolidae). Genus, 5, 401–409.
Meyer, M. C., & Burreson, E. M. (1990). Some leeches (Hirudinea: Piscicolidae) of the southern ocean. Biology of the Antarctic Seas. Antarctic Research Series, 52, 219–226.
Petrov, A. F., Gordeev, I. I., & Uryupova, A. F. (2013). Results of research program of the Russian Federation in Subarea 48.5 (Weddell Sea) in season 2012/13. WG-FSA-13/11.Unpublished CCAMLR Document. Australia, Hobart, 28 pp.
Petrov, A. F., Shust, K. V., & Gordeev, I. I. (2014). Assessment of fishing capacity of Antarctic toothfish Dissostichus mawsoni, the Weddell Sea based on the results of longline survey 2013. Problems of Fisheries, 15, 320–328 (in Russian).
Petrov, A. F., Tatarnikov, V. A., & Gordeev, I. I. (2012). Plan of research program of the Russian Federation in Subarea 48.5 (Weddell Sea) in season 2012/2013. WG-FSA-12/12.Unpublished CCAMLR Document. Australia, Hobart, 28 pp.
Sawyer, R. T. (1972). A new species of “tentacled” marine fish leeches parasitic on Notothenia from subantarctic Marion and Crozet Islands. Hydrobiologia, 40, 267–268.
Sawyer, R. T. (1986). Leech biology and behaviour. Volume II: Feeding biology, ecology, and systematics. Oxford: Clarendon Press.
Utevsky, A. Y. (1997). A new species of piscicolid leeches (Hirudinea, Piscicolidae) from Antarctic seas. Vestnik Zoologii, 31, 17–24 (in Russian).
Utevsky, A. Y. (2007). Antarctic piscicolid leeches. Bonner Zoologische Monographien, 54, 1–80.
Utevsky, S. Y. (2003). On the systematic position of the marine fish leech Heptacyclus albus (Hirudinea, Piscicolidae). Vestnik Zoologii, 37, 65–70.
Utevsky, S. Y. (2008). Order Hirudinida Lamarck, 1818 – Leeches. In: Adrianov, A. V. (Ed.) Biota of the Russian waters of the Sea of Japan: Polyclad Turbellarians, Leeches, Oligochaetes, Echiurans. Vladivostok: Dalnauka, pp. 93–167.
Utevsky, S. Y. (2009). A new marine fish leech species of the genus Oceanobdella (Clitellata, Piscicolidae) from coastal waters of Sakhalin Island. Acta Parasitologica, 54, 350–354.
Utevsky, S. Y. (2010). Order Hirudinida – Leeches. In: Sirenko, B. I. (Ed.) Illustrated keys to free-living invertebrates of Eurasian Arctic seas and adjacent deep waters. Volume 2: Nemertea, Cephalorhyncha, Oligochaeta, Hirudinida, Pogonophora, Echiura, Sipuncula, Phoronida and Brachiopoda. Moscow - St. Petersburg: KMK Scientific Press, pp. 85–113.
Utevsky, S. Y., & Trontelj, P. (2004). Phylogenetic relationships of fish leeches (Hirudinea, Piscicolidae) based on mitochondrial DNA sequences and morphological data. Zoologica Scripta, 33, 375–385.
Utevsky, S. Y., Utevsky, A. Y., Schiaparelli, S., & Trontelj, P. (2007). Molecular phylogeny of pontobdelline leeches and their place in the descent of fish leeches (Hirudinea, Piscicolidae). Zoologica Scripta, 36, 271–280.
Williams, J. I., & Burreson, E. M. (2006). Phylogeny of the fish leeches (Oligochaeta, Hirudinida, Piscicolidae) based on nuclear and mitochondrial genes and morphology. Zoologica Scripta, 35, 627–639.
Acknowledgements
We are grateful to Dr. Serge Utevsky (V. N. Karazin Kharkiv National University) for reading a draft of the article and valuable criticisms.
Funding
This research was supported in part by the National Antarctic Scientific Center of Ukraine, a CAML / SCAR-MarBIN TOTAL Foundation minigrant and by RFBR (Russian Fund of Fundamental Research, No. 14-04-31950 mol_a).
Conflict of interest
The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.
Compliance with ethical standards
All applicable institutional, national and international guidelines for the care and use of animals were followed.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Utevsky, A., Gordeev, I. New tentacled leech Ceratobdella quadricornuta n. g., n. sp. (Hirudinida: Piscicolidae) parasitic on the starry skate Raja georgiana Norman from the Scotia Sea, Antarctica. Syst Parasitol 91, 203–210 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11230-015-9570-3
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11230-015-9570-3