Family MONOCOTYLIDAE Taschenberg, 1879
Introduction
The Monocotylidae Taschenberg, 1879 is a family of monogeneans that currently includes over 100 species that are parasitic exclusively on chondrichthyan fishes (sharks, rays and chimaeras). Monocotylids are unique because members inhabit many different sites on their chondrichthyan hosts including the skin, gills, nasal tissues, cloaca, rectum, rectal gland and even the inner wall of the body cavity (from Chisholm et al., 2001).
Diagnosis
Three apomorphic characters identified by Chisholm et al (2001) support the monophyly of the Monocotylidae: a haptor with one central and eight peripheral loculi, an ovary which loops around the right intestinal caecum and tetrahedral eggs.
General References
Chisholm, L.A., Morgan. J.A.T., Adlard, R.D. & Whittington, I.D. 2001. Phylogenetic analysis of the Monocotylidae (Monogenea) inferred from 28S rDNA sequences. International Journal for Parasitology 31: 1253-1263
History of changes
| Published | As part of group | Action Date | Action Type | Compiler(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 12-Feb-2010 | (import) |