Microcotyle otrynteri

Microcotyle otrynteri
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Platyhelminthes
Class:	Monogenea
Order:	Mazocraeidea
Family:	Microcotylidae
Genus:	Microcotyle
Species:	M. otrynteri
Binomial name
	Microcotyle otrynteri; Pearse, 1949

Last updated March 02, 2019

Microcotyle otrynteri 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.

Systematics

Microcotyle otrynteri was first described by Pearse in 1949 based on 4 specimens taken from one host. ^[1] According to Hendrix (1994), the species is poorly described and needs further investigation. ^[2]

Morphology

Microcotyle otrynteri has the general morphology of all species of Microcotyle , with a slender body, widest in the middle and tapering toward each end, with an expanded anterior end. The body comprises an anterior part which contains most organs and a posterior part called the haptor. The haptor bears 40 clamps, arranged as two closely set rows, one on each side. The clamps of the haptor attach the animal to the gill of the fish. There are also two buccal suckers anterior to the pharynx at the anterior extremity. The digestive organs include an anterior, terminal mouth, a pharynx, and a posterior intestine with two lateral branches. Each adult contains male and female reproductive organs. The reproductive organs include an genital atrium, armed with numerous conical spines, a single ovary, vitellarium glands and testes which are posterior to the ovary.^[1]

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.

Etymology

The specific name otrynteri is derived from the generic name of the host species Otrynter caprinus.^[1]

Diagnosis

According to Pearse (1949), Microcotyle otrynteri can be differentiated from other species of the genus Microcotyle studies by him in the same paper, by the dorsal papilla over the mouth, and the number and character of the haptoral clamps.^[1]

Hosts, localities

The type-host and only recorded host of Microcotyle otrynteri is Otrynter caprinus (Sparidae ).^[1] The type locality and only locality is off North Carolina. ^[1]^[2]

The Sparidae are a family of fish in the order Perciformes, commonly called sea breams and porgies. The sheepshead, scup, and red seabream are species in this family. Most sparids are deep-bodied compressed fish with a small mouth separated by a broad space from the eye, a single dorsal fin with strong spines and soft rays, a short anal fin, long pointed pectoral fins and rather large firmly attached scales. They are found in shallow temperate and tropical waters and are bottom-dwelling carnivores.

North Carolina is a state in the southeastern region of the United States. It borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west, Virginia to the north, and the Atlantic Ocean to the east. North Carolina is the 28th-most extensive and the 9th-most populous of the U.S. states. The state is divided into 100 counties. The capital is Raleigh, which along with Durham and Chapel Hill is home to the largest research park in the United States. The most populous municipality is Charlotte, which is the second-largest banking center in the United States after New York City.

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References

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Pearse, A. S. (1949). "Observations on Flatworms and Nemerteans Collected at Beaufort, N. C." (PDF). Proceedings of the United States National Museum. 100 (3255): 25–38, figures 6–9. doi:10.5479/si.00963801.100-3255.25. ISSN 0096-3801.
1 2 Hendrix, S. S. (1994). Marine flora and fauna of the eastern United States. Platyhelminthes: Monogenea (NOAA Technical Report NMFS 121). Seattle: US Department of Commerce. PDF

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[Pearse1949-1] 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Pearse, A. S. (1949). "Observations on Flatworms and Nemerteans Collected at Beaufort, N. C." (PDF). Proceedings of the United States National Museum. 100 (3255): 25–38, figures 6–9. doi:10.5479/si.00963801.100-3255.25. ISSN 0096-3801.

[Hendrix1994-2] 1 2 Hendrix, S. S. (1994). Marine flora and fauna of the eastern United States. Platyhelminthes: Monogenea (NOAA Technical Report NMFS 121). Seattle: US Department of Commerce. PDF