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Issue: Vol. 5787 No. 2: 7 Apr. 2026
Type: Article
Published: 2026-04-07
DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.5787.2.2
Page range: 238-254
Abstract views: 45
PDF downloaded: 1

A new species of Amiculucestus (Eucestoda: Lecanicephalidea: Eniochobothriidae) from the cownose ray, Rhinoptera bonasus (Myliobatiformes: Rhinopteridae) in the Western Atlantic

Curso de Pós-graduação/Instituto de Biociências; Universidade de São Paulo; São Paulo; São Paulo; Brazil; Departamento de Zoologia/Instituto de Biociências; Universidade de São Paulo; São Paulo; São Paulo; Brazil
Platyhelminthes morphology phylogeny cestodes lecanicephalideans eniochobothriids Southwestern Atlantic

Abstract

This study describes, on morphological and molecular grounds, Amiculucestus bonasus sp. nov., a parasite of the cownose ray Rhinoptera bonasus from the Western Atlantic. The new species is assigned to Amiculucestus Jensen & Caira, 2022 based on the presence of key diagnostic features such as protandry, presence of an inverted J-shaped cirrus sac, and absence of a seminal receptacle. It can be distinguished from all four other valid species of this genus (i.e., A. calli Jensen & Caira, 2022; A. australiensis Jensen & Caira, 2022; A. herzogae Jensen & Caira, 2022; and A. penghuensis Jensen & Caira, 2022) by the width of the terminal female-mature proglottid, gravid proglottid and ovary, and the combination of other morphometric attributes, such as number of testes, width of the terminal male-mature proglottid and posterior-most immature proglottid, and length of the gravid strobila and ovarian lobe. Phylogenetic analyses of the D1–D3 region of the 28S rDNA gene provide molecular evidence supporting its status as a new species of Amiculucestus. Amiculucestus bonasus sp. nov. is the fifth valid species of this genus and the first identified in the Southwestern Atlantic.

 

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How to Cite

Quadros, A.L. (2026) A new species of Amiculucestus (Eucestoda: Lecanicephalidea: Eniochobothriidae) from the cownose ray, Rhinoptera bonasus (Myliobatiformes: Rhinopteridae) in the Western Atlantic. Zootaxa, 5787 (2), 238–254. https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.5787.2.2