Rajonchocotyle Cerfontaine, 1899, species are blood-feeding parasites on the gills of rajiforms. Eight species are considered valid, the most recent of which was described just after World War II. Many of the original descriptions of Rajonchocotyle species are limited in diagnostic value, and comparative museum material is scanty. The genus requires revision, and in support thereof, we provide detailed redescriptions for Rajonchocotyle alba Cerfontaine, 1899, from the type host Rostroraja alba (Lacepède, 1803) and Rajonchocotyle emarginata (Olsson, 1876), Sproston, 1946, from 2 new host records, Raja straeleni Poll, 1951, and Leucoraja wallacei (Hulley, 1970), from South Africa, a new locality record. The generic diagnosis for Rajonchocotyle is amended to include greater details of the male reproductive system and confirms Paul Cerfontaine's and Nora Sproston's historic observations of the morphology of the male copulatory organ consisting of a separate proximal seminal vesicle and a distal cirrus. The lectotype of Rajonchocotyle kenojei Yamaguti, 1938, is assigned, and a comprehensive Rajonchocotyle-host species list is provided, highlighting species records that require further verification, and the purported global host range of R. emarginata is discussed.
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3 May 2023
Rajonchocotyle Cerfontaine, 1899 (Monogenea: Hexabothriidae) Species from South Africa, with Discussion of the Literary Accounts of R. emarginata (Olsson, 1876)
David B. Vaughan,
Kevin W. Christison,
Haakon Hansen
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Journal of Parasitology
Vol. 109 • No. 3
June 2023
Vol. 109 • No. 3
June 2023
elasmobranch
Hexabothriidae
Monogenea
Rajonchocotyle
South Africa