Morphological and molecular characterisation of two new species of Rhipidocotyle (Digenea: Bucephalidae Poche, 1907) from Sphyraena putnamae Jordan & Seale in Mozambique

Species-level delineation of digenetic trematodes is complex and can be best achieved by integrative taxonomy using both genetic characterisation and morphological analysis. Two new Bucephalidae species of the genus Rhipidocotyle Diesing, 1858 are described here based on specimens collected from the intestine of Sphyraena putnamae Jordan & Seale following this approach. Adults of R. siphonyaka n. sp. and R. nolwe n. sp. possess tentacles and a tegument with scales. They are distinguished from their congeners by the arrangement of the digestive structures, the extent of the uterus relative to vitelline fields, and the arrangement of the reproductive structures. Rhipidocotyle siphonyaka n. sp. differs from R. nolwe n. sp. in having the pharynx and mouth positioned in the pre-uterine field, tandem testes, longer body length, and shorter pre-vitelline and post-testicular distance. Rhipidocotyle siphonyaka n. sp. differs from its congeners in having a tube-like intestinal caecum, pharynx and mouth opening positioned in the pre-vitelline field. Rhipidocotyle nolwe n. sp. appears to be similar, morphologically and morphometrically, to Rhipidocotyle khalili (Nagaty, 1937). Despite their similarities, R. nolwe n. sp. has a shorter body length and egg size. Moreover, the molecular analysis of 28S and ITS rDNA fragments indicate that R. siphonyaka n. sp. and R. nolwe n. sp. are closely related phylogenetically but distinct from one another and other Bucephalidae for which molecular data are available.