Taxonomic Status of Neoechinorhynchus agilis (Acanthocephala, Neoechinorhynchidae), with a Description of Two New Species of the Genus from the Atlantic and Pacifi c Mullets (Teleostei, Mugilidae)

Abstract

EN : Taxonomic Status of Neoechinorhynchus agilis (Acanthocephala, Neoechinorhynchidae), with a De- scription of Two New Species of the Genus from the Atlantic and Pacifi c Mullets (Teleostei, Mugili- dae). Tkach, Ie. V., Sarabeev, V. L., Shvetsova, L. S. — Th e wide variability in morphological features, geographical and host ranges of mullet acanthocephalan parasite Neoechinorhynchus agilis (Rudolphi, 1819), raises the question of taxonomic status of this species. Rudolphi’s type and Yamaguti`s voucher specimens, as well as our own material from the WW Pacifi c and NE Atlantic region were used herein to provide comparative morphological analysis. The study revealed three different species of Neoechino-rhynchus, N. (N.) agilis and N.(H.) personatus Tkach, Sarabeev et Shvetsova, sp. n. in the Atlantic and N. (H.) yamagutii Tkach, Sarabeev et Shvetsova, sp. n. in the Pacific. Strong morphological and morpho-metric differences were found between three described herein species from different hosts and regions. The dividing of N. agilis into three species, two of them are new, provides a basis for the further revision of host-geographical records of mullet acanthocephalan parasites