Thanks to high species diversity and a broad range of speciation mechanisms, cichlid fishes represent a textbook model in evolutionary biology. They are also of substantial economic value. Despite this importance, cichlid parasites remain understudied, although some are more diverse than their hosts. They may offer important insights into cichlid evolution and the evolution of host-parasite interactions. We review five major lines of research conducted on cichlid parasites so far: the study of parasite diversity and speciation; the role of parasites in cichlid diversification; the evolutionary ecology of host specificity; historical biogeography; and biological invasions. We call for more research in these areas and suggest approaches to valorise the potential that cichlid parasites hold for the study of evolutionary parasitology.

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

Centre for Biodiversity Dynamics Department of Biology Norwegian University of Science and Technology N 7491 Trondheim Norway

Department of Botany and Zoology Faculty of Science Masaryk University Kotlářská 2 CZ 611 37 Brno Czech Republic

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

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

Citace poskytuje Crossref.org