The stunning diversity of cichlid fishes has greatly enhanced our understanding of speciation and radiation. Little is known about the evolution of cichlid parasites. Parasites are abundant components of biodiversity, whose diversity typically exceeds that of their hosts. In the first comprehensive phylogenetic parasitological analysis of a vertebrate radiation, we study monogenean parasites infecting tropheine cichlids from Lake Tanganyika. Monogeneans are flatworms usually infecting the body surface and gills of fishes. In contrast to many other parasites, they depend only on a single host species to complete their lifecycle. Our spatially comprehensive combined nuclear-mitochondrial DNA dataset of the parasites covering almost all tropheine host species (N = 18), reveals species-rich parasite assemblages and shows consistent host-specificity. Statistical comparisons of host and parasite phylogenies based on distance and topology-based tests demonstrate significant congruence and suggest that host-switching is rare. Molecular rate evaluation indicates that species of Cichlidogyrus probably diverged synchronically with the initial radiation of the tropheines. They further diversified through within-host speciation into an overlooked species radiation. The unique life history and specialisation of certain parasite groups has profound evolutionary consequences. Hence, evolutionary parasitology adds a new dimension to the study of biodiversity hotspots like Lake Tanganyika.

Biology Department Royal Museum for Central Africa Leuvensesteenweg 13 B 3080 Tervuren Belgium

Institut des Sciences de l'Évolution IRD CNRS Université Montpellier 2 CC 063 Place Eugène Bataillon F 34095 Montpellier cedex 05 France

Institute of Zoology University of Graz Universitätsplatz 2 A 8010 Graz Austria

Laboratory of Biodiversity and Evolutionary Genomics Department of Biology University of Leuven Ch Deberiotstraat 32 B 3000 Leuven Belgium

Laboratory of Biodiversity and Evolutionary Genomics Department of Biology University of Leuven Ch Deberiotstraat 32 B 3000 Leuven Belgium Biology Department Royal Museum for Central Africa Leuvensesteenweg 13 B 3080 Tervuren Belgium

Laboratory of Biodiversity and Evolutionary Genomics Department of Biology University of Leuven Ch Deberiotstraat 32 B 3000 Leuven Belgium Biology Department Royal Museum for Central Africa Leuvensesteenweg 13 B 3080 Tervuren Belgium Department of Botany and Zoology Faculty of Science Masaryk University Kotlářská 2 CZ 611 37 Brno Czech Republic Institute of Marine Biological Resources and Inland Waters Hellenic Centre for Marine Research 46 7 km Athens Sounio Avenue PO Box 712 Anavyssos GR 190 13 Greece

Laboratory of Biodiversity and Evolutionary Genomics Department of Biology University of Leuven Ch Deberiotstraat 32 B 3000 Leuven Belgium Biology Department Royal Museum for Central Africa Leuvensesteenweg 13 B 3080 Tervuren Belgium Institute of Zoology University of Graz Universitätsplatz 2 A 8010 Graz Austria

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