Microcotyle lichiae

Microcotyle lichiae
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Platyhelminthes
Class:	Monogenea
Order:	Mazocraeidea
Family:	Microcotylidae
Genus:	Microcotyle
Species:	M. lichiae
Binomial name
	Microcotyle lichiae; Ariola, 1899
Synonyms
	Microcotyle (Microcotyle) lichiae(Ariola, 1899) Unnithan1971 [1] [2] ;

Last updated April 30, 2019

Microcotyle lichiae is a species of monogenean, parasitic on the gills of a marine fish. It belongs to the family Microcotylidae. ^[1]

In biology, a species ( ) is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. Other ways of defining species include their karyotype, DNA sequence, morphology, behaviour or ecological niche. In addition, paleontologists use the concept of the chronospecies since fossil reproduction cannot be examined. While these definitions may seem adequate, when looked at more closely they represent problematic species concepts. For example, the boundaries between closely related species become unclear with hybridisation, in a species complex of hundreds of similar microspecies, and in a ring species. Also, among organisms that reproduce only asexually, the concept of a reproductive species breaks down, and each clone is potentially a microspecies.

Fish are gill-bearing aquatic craniate animals that lack limbs with digits. They form a sister group to the tunicates, together forming the olfactores. Included in this definition are the living hagfish, lampreys, and cartilaginous and bony fish as well as various extinct related groups. Tetrapods emerged within lobe-finned fishes, so cladistically they are fish as well. However, traditionally fish are rendered paraphyletic by excluding the tetrapods. Because in this manner the term "fish" is defined negatively as a paraphyletic group, it is not considered a formal taxonomic grouping in systematic biology, unless it is used in the cladistic sense, including tetrapods. The traditional term pisces is considered a typological, but not a phylogenetic classification.

Microcotylidae is a family of polyopisthocotylean monogeneans. All the species in this family are parasitic on fish.

Taxonomy

Microcotyle lichiae was described by Ariola in 1899, from the gills of the leerfish Lichia amia (Carangidae). ^[1] Unnithan (1971) placed M. lichiae in the nominal subgenus Microcotyle as Microcotyle (Microcotyle) lichiae. ^[2] However, this combination was suppressed by Mamaev in 1986. ^[3]

The Carangidae are a family of fish which includes the jacks, pompanos, jack mackerels, runners, and scads.

Morphology

Microcotyle lichiae has the general morphology of all species of Microcotyle , with a flat body 0.5 mm in length, comprising an anterior part which contains most organs and a posterior part called the haptor. The haptor is asymmetrical and bears 52 clamps, arranged in two rows (31 in one row, 21 on the other). The clamps of the haptor attach the animal to the gill of the fish. There are also two small ellipsoidal and aseptate buccal suckers at the anterior extremity. The digestive organs include an anterior, terminal mouth, a muscular pharynx, and a posterior intestine with two lateral blind-ending branches. Each adult contains male and female reproductive organs.

Microcotyle is a genus which belongs to the phylum Platyhelminthes and class Monogenea. Species of Microcotyle are ectoparasites that affect their host by attaching themselves as larvae on the gills of the fish and grow into adult stage. This larval stage is called oncomiracidium, and is characterized as free swimming and ciliated.

The haptor is the attachment organ of the monogeneans, a group of parasitic Platyhelminthes. The haptor is sometimes called opisthaptor to emphasize that it is located in the posterior part of the body, and to differentiate it from the prohaptor, a structure including glands located at the anterior part of the body. According to Yamaguti (1963), the chief adhesive organ of the monogeneans, the haptor, is posterior, more or less discoid, muscular, may be divided into alveoli or loculi, is usually provided with anchors, has nearly always marginal larval hooklets, or is in a reduced form with anchors. The haptor may consist of symmetrical or asymmetrical, sessile or pedunculate, muscular suckers or clamps with or without supporting sclerites; accessory adhesive organs may be present in form of armed plaques, lappets or appendices.

Clamps are the main attachment structure of the Polyopisthocotylean monogeneans.
These ectoparasitic worms have a variable number of clamps on their haptor ; each clamp is attached to the host fish, generally to its gill. Clamps include sclerotised elements, called the sclerites, and muscles. The structure of clamps varies according to the groups within the Polyopisthocotylean monogeneans; microcotylids have relatively simple clamps, whereas gastrocotylids have more complex clamps.

According to Ariola,^[1] the male reproductive organs include an anterior genital atrium with spines, posterior to the intestinal bifurcation; a vas deferens opening in the genital atrium; and a number of testes posterior to the ovary and arranged in two simple and parallel rows. Each testes has a canalicum, which sends its products in the common vas deferens. The arrangement and shape of the spines of the genital atrium differs from what was observed in the congeners. The spines are very numerous and ordered in five concentric rings, which present, progressively, an ever decreasing number; their dimensions are not constant. The female reproductive organs comprises a dorsal vagina unarmed and elongated transversely; a single median ovary, immediately below the vaginal opening giving rises to uterus; a uterus, opening in the genital atrium as well. Eggs have a distinct oval shape, with filaments at each end.

In a zoological context, spines are hard, needle-like anatomical structures found in both vertebrate and invertebrate species.The spines of most spiny mammals are modified hairs, with a spongy center covered in a thick, hard layer of keratin and a sharp, sometimes barbed tip.

The vas deferens, also called ductus deferens, is part of the male reproductive system of many vertebrates; these ducts transport sperm from the epididymis to the ejaculatory ducts in anticipation of ejaculation. It is a partially coiled tube which exits the abdominal cavity through the inguinal canal.

Ovary ovum-producing reproductive organ, often found in pairs as part of the vertebrate female reproductive system

The ovary is an organ found in the female reproductive system that produces an ovum. When released, this travels down the fallopian tube into the uterus, where it may become fertilized by a sperm. There is an ovary found on the left and right sides of the body. The ovaries also secrete hormones that play a role in the menstrual cycle and fertility. The ovary progresses through many stages beginning in the prenatal period through menopause. It is also an endocrine gland because of the various hormones that it secretes.

Etymology

The specific name of this species, lichiae, relates to the genitive form of the generic name of the type host fish, Lichia amia .^[1]

Hosts and localities

The type-host is the leerfish Lichia amia (Carangidae). The type-locality is off Genova, Italy.^[1]

Genoa is the capital of the Italian region of Liguria and the sixth-largest city in Italy. In 2015, 594,733 people lived within the city's administrative limits. As of the 2011 Italian census, the Province of Genoa, which in 2015 became the Metropolitan City of Genoa, counted 855,834 resident persons. Over 1.5 million people live in the wider metropolitan area stretching along the Italian Riviera.

Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a European country consisting of a peninsula delimited by the Italian Alps and sorrounded by several islands. Located in the middle of the Mediterranean sea and traversed along its lenght by the Apennines, Italy has a largely temperate seasonal climate. The country covers an area of 301,340 km² (116,350 sq mi) and shares open land borders with France, Slovenia, Austria, Switzerland and the enclaved microstates of Vatican City and San Marino. Italy has a territorial exclave in Switzerland (Campione) and a maritime exclave in the Tunisian sea (Lampedusa). With around 60 million inhabitants, Italy is the fourth-most populous member state of the European Union.

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References

1 2 3 4 5 6 Ariola, V. (1899). Di alcuni trematodi di pesci marini. Bollettino dei Musei e Laboratori di Zoologia e Anatomia Comparata della R. Università di Genova, 4(81), 1-12. https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/item/242375#page/121/mode/1up.pdf
1 2 Unnithan, R. V. (1971). On the functional morphology of a new fauna of Monogenoidea on fishes from Trivandrum and environs. Part IV. Microcotylidae sensu stricto and its repartition into subsidiary taxa. American Midland Naturalist, 366-398.
↑ Mamaev, Y. L. (1986). The taxonomical composition of the family Microcotylidae Taschenberg, 1879 (Monogenea). Folia Parasitologica, 33, 199-206. PDF

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[Ariola1899-1] 1 2 3 4 5 6 Ariola, V. (1899). Di alcuni trematodi di pesci marini. Bollettino dei Musei e Laboratori di Zoologia e Anatomia Comparata della R. Università di Genova, 4(81), 1-12. https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/item/242375#page/121/mode/1up.pdf

[Unnithan1971-2] 1 2 Unnithan, R. V. (1971). On the functional morphology of a new fauna of Monogenoidea on fishes from Trivandrum and environs. Part IV. Microcotylidae sensu stricto and its repartition into subsidiary taxa. American Midland Naturalist, 366-398.

[Mamaev1986-3] Mamaev, Y. L. (1986). The taxonomical composition of the family Microcotylidae Taschenberg, 1879 (Monogenea). Folia Parasitologica, 33, 199-206. PDF