Pseudorhabdosynochus sulamericanus facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Pseudorhabdosynochus sulamericanus |
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| Body and sclerotised parts | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | |
| Phylum: | |
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| Subclass: |
Monopisthocotylea
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| Family: |
Diplectanidae
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| Genus: |
Pseudorhabdosynochus
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| Species: |
sulamericanus
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| Binomial name | |
| Pseudorhabdosynochus sulamericanus Santos, Buchmann & Gibson, 2000
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Pseudorhabdosynochus sulamericanus is a tiny flatworm that lives as a parasite on the gills of certain fish. It belongs to a group of parasites called Monogenea. This specific worm is found on fish like the Snowy grouper, the Warsaw grouper, and the Haifa grouper.
Scientists first described P. sulamericanus in the year 2000. It has been studied and described again by different scientists in 2015 and 2016 to learn more about it.
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What is Pseudorhabdosynochus sulamericanus?
Pseudorhabdosynochus sulamericanus is a very small flatworm. It has a flat body, just like other worms in the Pseudorhabdosynochus family. At the back of its body, it has a special organ called a haptor. This haptor helps the worm stick firmly to the gills of its host fish.
The haptor has two disc-like structures called squamodiscs. One squamodisc is on the top (dorsal) and the other is on the bottom (ventral). These help the worm hold on tight.
Where Does This Parasite Live?
Parasites live on or inside other living things, which are called their "hosts." The places where these parasites are found are called "localities."
Fish Hosts in the Western Atlantic Ocean
The main fish that P. sulamericanus was first found on is the Snowy grouper (scientific name: Epinephelus niveatus). This is called its "type-host." It was first discovered off the coast of Ilhas Cagarras, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
This parasite has also been found on Snowy groupers near Cape Canaveral and Pensacola in Florida, USA. Another fish, the Warsaw grouper (Epinephelus nigritus), also hosts this parasite. It was found on Warsaw groupers off Naples, Florida.
A Parasite Across the Atlantic Ocean
In 2016, scientists found this same type of flatworm on Haifa groupers (Hyporthodus haifensis) off the coasts of Tunisia and Libya in Africa. This was a big surprise!
Scientists compared these new worms to the ones found in the Americas. They realized they were the same species, Pseudorhabdosynochus sulamericanus. This discovery was unexpected because these worms usually don't travel far. Also, they are very specific about which fish they live on. Finding the same worm on different fish species across the huge Atlantic Ocean made scientists wonder how it happened. It raises interesting questions about how fish and their parasites spread across the world.
Gallery
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P. sulamericanus from Hyporthodus niveatus
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Images for kids
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Comparison of vaginae
