Description of a novel phyllobothriidean cestode from the bull shark Carcharhinus leucas (Valenciennes) from the Persian Gulf.
- 1Department of Biology, Faculty of Sciences, University of Guilan, P.O. Box: 41335-1914, Rasht, 4193833697, Iran.
Abstract
Carcharhinus leucas is a shark species with a global distribution mostly in tropical and subtropical waters, including the Persian Gulf. Knowledge of the cestode fauna of this host continues to grow. In the present study, a new species of phyllobothriidean cestode, Scyphophyllidium persicarium n. sp., is described from the spiral intestine of a bull shark collected off Bandar Lengeh in the Persian Gulf, Iran. The new species is assigned to Category 6 of Scyphophyllidium based on the presence of apical suckers on broad bothridia lacking facial and marginal loculi, the absence of bothridial pores, the presence of gongylate columnar spinitriches on the distal bothridial surface and serrate gladiate spinitriches on the proximal bothridial surface, and the presence of scutes on the strobila. Scyphophyllidium persicarium n. sp. can be distinguished from its congeners by a combination of characters, including total length (11.6-22.9 mm), number of proglottids (30-50), number of testes (80-111), and vitelline follicle distribution (mostly 1 column, rarely 2 columns dorsally and ventrally) in two lateral bands. The new species is further characterized by a euapolytic strobila and the absence of a cephalic peduncle. This discovery brings the total number of Scyphophyllidium species known from C. leucas to five and expands the known diversity of the genus in the Persian Gulf to seven. Globally, infection patterns of Scyphophyllidium species in their shark definitive hosts reveal that a single shark species can harbor multiple congeners either sympatrically or allopatrically, with combinations of species from the same or different morphological categories. The evolution of different microthrix forms among Scyphophyllidium species, particularly across categories 5 through 7, is discussed in light of these infection patterns, with host switching, coupled with adaptation to host intestinal anatomy, proposed as a plausible mechanism explaining microthrix diversity within congeners in a single shark host.
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BibTeX
@article{mastoori2026description,
title = {{Description of a novel phyllobothriidean cestode from the bull shark Carcharhinus leucas (Valenciennes) from the Persian Gulf.}},
author = {Minoo Mastoori and Mohammad Haseli},
journal = {International journal for parasitology. Parasites and wildlife},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.1016/j.ijppaw.2026.101296},
url = {https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42903911},
note = {CC BY-NC-ND},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Description of a novel phyllobothriidean cestode from the bull shark Carcharhinus leucas (Valenciennes) from the Persian Gulf.
AU - Minoo Mastoori
AU - Mohammad Haseli
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/05
JO - International journal for parasitology. Parasites and wildlife
DO - 10.1016/j.ijppaw.2026.101296
UR - https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42903911
AB - Carcharhinus leucas is a shark species with a global distribution mostly in tropical and subtropical waters, including the Persian Gulf. Knowledge of the cestode fauna of this host continues to grow. In the present study, a new species of phyllobothriidean cestode, Scyphophyllidium persicarium n. sp., is described from the spiral intestine of a bull shark collected off Bandar Lengeh in the Persian Gulf, Iran. The new species is assigned to Category 6 of Scyphophyllidium based on the presence of apical suckers on broad bothridia lacking facial and marginal loculi, the absence of bothridial pores, the presence of gongylate columnar spinitriches on the distal bothridial surface and serrate gladiate spinitriches on the proximal bothridial surface, and the presence of scutes on the strobila. Scyphophyllidium persicarium n. sp. can be distinguished from its congeners by a combination of characters, including total length (11.6-22.9 mm), number of proglottids (30-50), number of testes (80-111), and vitelline follicle distribution (mostly 1 column, rarely 2 columns dorsally and ventrally) in two lateral bands. The new species is further characterized by a euapolytic strobila and the absence of a cephalic peduncle. This discovery brings the total number of Scyphophyllidium species known from C. leucas to five and expands the known diversity of the genus in the Persian Gulf to seven. Globally, infection patterns of Scyphophyllidium species in their shark definitive hosts reveal that a single shark species can harbor multiple congeners either sympatrically or allopatrically, with combinations of species from the same or different morphological categories. The evolution of different microthrix forms among Scyphophyllidium species, particularly across categories 5 through 7, is discussed in light of these infection patterns, with host switching, coupled with adaptation to host intestinal anatomy, proposed as a plausible mechanism explaining microthrix diversity within congeners in a single shark host.
SN - 2213-2244
ER -