Morphology and molecular analysis of Mizelleus indicus Jain (1957) and M. longicirrus (Tripathi, 1959) Venkatanarasaiah & Kulkarni 1981 (Monogenea, Dactylogyridae) from the freshwater shark Wallago attu in the Ganga River, India

摘要

Species of the genus Mizelleus Jain (1957) have always been controversial regarding identification and validity. Members of this group of species differ from each other in the morphology of their hard parts, which can be misleading and subject to differing interpretation among scientists. Therefore, the main objective of present study was to identify Mizelleus worms by morphological methods and molecular analysis on the basis of 18S ribosomal DNA to clarify their phylogenetic status. In this study, specimens were isolated from the gill filaments of Wallago attu (Siluriformes) and studied morphologically. In accordance with morphological characters, the specimens were found to be Mizelleus indicus and Mizelleus longicirrus. Partial sequences of nuclear 18S rDNA of these two species were amplified. The results confirm the phylogenetic relationships and taxonomic validation of M. indicus and M. longicirrus in India.