A new fish leech, Branchellion brevicaudatae sp. n., is described based on specimens parasitizing the gills of the short-tail stingray, Bathytoshia brevicaudata (Hutton, 1875), collected from Japanese waters. The new species can be distinguished from other congeners by having: i) pulsating vesicles emerging from posterior base of branchiae, one pair per somite; ii) dorsal white spots, not arranged in longitudinal row; and iii) blackish body. A phylogenetic tree based on partial sequences of the mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit I gene from the new species and other piscicolid worms showed that the new species is sister to Branchellion torpedinis Savigny, 1822. This is the first record of Branchellion Savigny, 1822 from Japanese waters.
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18 May 2023
A New Species of Branchellion (Hirudinea: Piscicolidae) Parasitizing the Gills of Short-Tail Stingrays (Batoidea: Dasyatidae) from the West Pacific
Naoto Jimi,
Junpei Shinji,
Natsumi Hookabe,
Masanori Okanishi,
Sau Pinn Woo,
Takafumi Nakano
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Zoological Science
Vol. 40 • No. 4
August 2023
Vol. 40 • No. 4
August 2023
Annelida
COI
COX1
Hirudinida
Oceanobdelliformes
taxonomy
