Dinoflagellates belonging to the genus Hematodinium are key parasites of marine crustaceans, primarily decapods. In this study, we document the first report of H. perezi Chatton & Poisson, 1930 on the African Atlantic coast. This is also the first parasite record in the invasive non-native Atlantic blue crab Callinectes sapidus Rathbun, 1896 in Morocco. Specimens of C. sapidus were sampled in winter 2023 from two Ramsar sites on the Moroccan Atlantic, namely Merja Zerga and Oualidia Lagoons, and were screened to detect the presence of parasites in their hemolymph. Based on staining fresh hemolymph smears, we did not detect Hematodinium in any of the 36 investigated individuals (20 and 16 from Merja Zerga and Oualidia Lagoons, respectively), probably due to methodological artifacts. The PCR-based method was revealed to be more accurate in diagnosing the Hematodinium parasite. It showed that at Merja Zerga Lagoon, 13 individuals of C. sapidus were infected by the parasite (prevalence: 65%) in comparison to four at Oualidia Lagoon (25%). Genetic analysis, based on the ITS1 rDNA gene from Hematodinium, confirmed the sequences as being those of Hematodinium perezi.
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RBINS Staff Publications 2024
During the study of rotifers collected in Eastern DR Congo, we rediscovered specimens that correspond to Monostyla dorsicornuta Van Oye, 1926. This species, which we redescribe, had not been seen since it's summary description, and lacked type material. Our analysis reveals that the animal belongs to Trichotriidae rather than to Lecane (presently considered to include Monostyla) or Lecanidae, but is nevertheless characterised by a foot structure that is remarkably convergent to that of Lecanidae, and different from all other genera of Trichotriidae. We conclude that the species and the closely related South American Macrochaetus kostei (Jos\'e de Paggi, Branco & Kozlowsky-Suzuki, 2000) belong to a new genus of Trichotriidae; the two offer a rare example of African-South American vicariance in rotifers.We further provide emended diagnoses of the remaining genera of Trichotriidae, to conform these to the new information and to address some inconsistencies in these.
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