The Lower Congo Basin is characterized by a mangrove-lined estuary at its mouth and, further upstream, by many hydrogeographical barriers such as rapids and narrow gorges. Five localities in the mangroves and four from (upstream) left bank tributaries or pools were sampled. On the gills of Coptodon tholloni, Coptodon rendalli, Hemichromis elongatus, Hemichromis stellifer and Tylochromis praecox, 17 species of parasites (Dactylogyridae & Gyrodactylidae, Monogenea) were found, eight of which are new to science. Six of these are herein described: Cichlidogyrus bixlerzavalai n. sp. and Cichlidogyrus omari n. sp. from T. praecox, Cichlidogyrus calycinus n. sp. and Cichlidogyrus polyenso n. sp. from H. elongatus, Cichlidogyrus kmentovae n. sp. from H. stellifer and Onchobdella ximenae n. sp. from both species of Hemichromis. On Cichlidogyrus reversati a ridge on the accessory piece was discovered that connects to the basal bulb of the penis. We report a putative spillback effect of the native parasites Cichlidogyrus berradae, Cichlidogyrus cubitus and Cichlidogyrus flexicolpos from C. tholloni to the introduced C. rendalli. From our results, we note that the parasite fauna of Lower Congo has a higher affinity with the fauna of West African and nearby freshwater ecoregions than it has with fauna of other regions of the Congo Basin and Central Africa.

Le cours du Bas Congo est caractérisé par un estuaire bordé de mangroves et, plus en amont, par de nombreuses barrières hydro-géographiques formées de rapides ou de gorges étroites. Nous avons échantillonné dans cinq localités au niveau des mangroves et dans quatre autres en amont sur la rive gauche du fleuve, dans des affluents ou des étangs. Nous avons trouvé, sur les branchies de Coptodon tholloni, Coptodon rendalli, Hemichromis elongatus, Hemichromis stellifer et Tylochromis praecox, 17 espèces de parasites (Dactylogyridae et Gyrodactylidae, Monogenea), dont huit sont nouvelles pour la science. Six d’entre elles sont décrites ici : Cichlidogyrus bixlerzavalai n. sp. et Cichlidogyrus omari n. sp. sur T. praecox, Cichlidogyrus calycinus n. sp. et Cichlidogyrus polyenso n. sp. sur H. elongatus, Cichlidogyrus kmentovae n. sp. sur H. stellifer et Onchobdella ximenae n. sp. sur les deux espèces d’Hemichromis. Nous décrivons, chez Cichlidogyrus reversati, une arête sur la pièce accessoire qui la connecte avec l’ampoule basale basal du pénis. Nous notons un probable transfert latéral des espèces autochtones Cichlidogyrus berradae, Cichlidogyrus cubitus et Cichlidogyrus flexicolpos de C. tholloni vers l’espèce introduite C. rendalli. Nos résultats montrent que la faune parasitaire du Bas Congo présente plus d’affinités avec les faunes d’Afrique de l’Ouest ou des écorégions d’eau douce voisines, qu’avec celles des autres parties du bassin du Congo ou de l’Afrique Centrale.

Centre de Recherche en Hydrobiologie Uvira B P 73 Democratic Republic of the Congo

Institut Supérieur Pédagogique Mbanza Ngungu B P 127 Democratic Republic of the Congo

ISEM Univ de Montpellier CNRS IRD Montpellier France

Research Group Zoology Biodiversity and Toxicology Centre for Environmental Sciences Hasselt University Agoralaan gebouw D 3590 Diepenbeek Belgium

Research Group Zoology Biodiversity and Toxicology Centre for Environmental Sciences Hasselt University Agoralaan gebouw D 3590 Diepenbeek Belgium Laboratory of Biodiversity and Evolutionary Genomics University of Leuven Charles Deberiotstraat 42 3000 Leuven Belgium Department of Botany and Zoology Faculty of Science Masaryk University Kamenice 735 5 625 00 Brno Czech Republic Zoology Unit Finnish Museum of Natural History University of Helsinki Pohjoinen Rautatiekatu 13 00100 Helsinki Finland

Research Group Zoology Biodiversity and Toxicology Centre for Environmental Sciences Hasselt University Agoralaan gebouw D 3590 Diepenbeek Belgium Royal Museum for Central Africa Leuvensesteenweg 13 3080 Tervuren Belgium

Royal Museum for Central Africa Leuvensesteenweg 13 3080 Tervuren Belgium Laboratory of Biodiversity and Evolutionary Genomics University of Leuven Charles Deberiotstraat 42 3000 Leuven Belgium

Zobrazit více v PubMed

Abell R, Thieme M, Revenga C, Bryer M, Kottelat M, Bogutskaya N, Coad B, Mandrak N, Contreras-Balderas S, Bussing W, Stiassny MLJ, Skelton P, Allen GR, Unmack P, Naseka A, Ng R, Sindorf N, Robertson J, Armijo E, Higgins J, Heibel TJ, Wikramanayake E, Olson D, Lopez HL, Reis REd, Lundberg JG, Sabaj Perez MH, Petry P. 2008. Freshwater Ecoregions of the World: a new map of biogeographic units for freshwater biodiversity conservation. Bioscience, 58, 403–414.

Alter SE, Brown B, Stiassny ML. 2015. Molecular phylogenetics reveals convergent evolution in lower Congo River spiny eels. BMC Evolutionary Biology, 15, 224. PubMed PMC

Bates J. 1997. The sealing compound: Glyceel. Journal of Nematology, 29(4), 565–566. PubMed PMC

Bilong Bilong CF, Euzet L. 1995.

Birgi E, Euzet L. 1983. Monogènes parasites des poissons des eaux douces du Cameroun. Présence des genres

Dossou C, Birgi E. 1984. Monogènes parasites d’

Douëllou L. 1993. Monogeneans of the genus

Dunz AR, Schliewen UK. 2013. Molecular phylogeny and revised classification of the haplotilapiine cichlid fishes formerly referred to as “Tilapia”. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution, 68(1), 64–80. PubMed

Ergens R. 1981. Nine species of the genus

Froese R, Pauly D. 2015. Fishbase, www.fishbase.org.

Goedknegt MA, Feis ME, Wegner KM, Luttikhuizen PC, Buschbaum C, Camphuysen K, van der Meer J, Thieltges DW. 2016. Parasites and marine invasions: Ecological and evolutionary perspectives. Journal of Sea Research, 113, 11–27.

Harris PD, Shinn AP, Cable J, Bakke TA. 2004. Nominal species of the genus PubMed

ICZN ICoZN. 1999. International Code of Zoological Nomenclature, www.nhm.ac.uk/hosted-sites/iczn/code/.

Jorissen MWP, Pariselle A, Huyse T, Vreven EJ, Snoeks J, Volckaert FAM, Manda AC, Kasembele GK, Artois T, Vanhove MPM. 2018. Diversity and host specificity of monogenean gill parasites (Platyhelminthes) of cichlid fishes in the Bangweulu-Mweru ecoregion. Journal of Helminthology, 92(4), 417–437. PubMed

Lowenstein JH, Osmundson TW, Becker S, Hanner R, Stiassny MLJ. 2011. Incorporating DNA barcodes into a multi-year inventory of the fishes of the hyperdiverse Lower Congo River, with a multi-gene performance assessment of the genus PubMed

Markert AJ, Schelly RC, Stiassny ML. 2010. Genetic isolation and morphological divergence mediated by high-energy rapids in two cichlid genera from the lower Congo rapids. BMC Evolutionary Biology, 10(1), 149–158. PubMed PMC

Markevitch AC. 1934. Parasitic diseases of fish and their control (in Russian). Leningrad: Koiz Publishing; 100p.

Mayer WE, Tichy H, Klein J. 1998. Phylogeny of African cichlid fishes as revealed by molecular markers. Heredity, 80, 702–714. PubMed

Mendlová M, Desdevises Y, Civáňová K, Pariselle A, Šimková A. 2012. Monogeneans of West African cichlid fish: evolution and cophylogenetic interactions. PLoS One, 7(5), 1–17. PubMed PMC

Mendlová M, Pariselle A, Vyskočilová M, Šimková A. 2010. Molecular phylogeny of monogeneans parasitizing African freshwater Cichlidae inferred from LSU rDNA sequences. Parasitology Research, 107(6), 1405–1413. PubMed

Mendlová M, Šimková A. 2014. Evolution of host specificity in monogeneans parasitizing African cichlid fish. Parasites and Vectors, 7, 69. PubMed PMC

Messu Mandeng FD, Bilong Bilong CF, Pariselle A, Vanhove MPM, Bitja Nyom AR, Agnese JF. 2015. A phylogeny of PubMed PMC

Muterezi Bukinga F, Vanhove MPM, Van Steenberge M, Pariselle A. 2012. Ancyrocephalidae (Monogenea) of Lake Tanganyika: III: PubMed

Oberg K, Shelton JM, Gardiner N, Jackson PR. 2009. Discharge and other hydraulic measurements for characterizing the hydraulics of Lower Congo River, Proceedings of the International Association for Hydraulic Research Congress p. 1–8.

Paperna I. 1965. Monogenetic Trematodes collected from fresh water in Southern Ghana. Bamidgeh, Bulletin of Fish Culture in Israel, 17(4), 107–111.

Paperna I. 1968.

Paperna I, Thurston JP. 1969. Monogenetic trematodes collected from cichlid fish in Uganda; including the description of five new species of

Pariselle A, Euzet L. 1994. Three new species of

Pariselle A, Euzet L. 1995. Gill parasites of the genus

Pariselle A, Euzet L. 1995.

Pariselle A, Euzet L. 1995. Trois monogènes nouveaux parasites branchiaux de

Pariselle A, Euzet L. 1996.

Pariselle A, Euzet L. 2003. Four new species of PubMed

Pariselle A, Euzet L. 2004. Two new species of PubMed

Pariselle A, Euzet L. 2009. Systematic revision of dactylogyridean parasites (Monogenea) from cichlid fishes in Africa, the Levant and Madagascar. Zoosystema, 31(4), 849–898.

Pariselle A, Bitja Nyom AR, Bilong Bilong CF. 2014. Four new species of PubMed

Pouyaud L, Desmarais E, Deveney M, Pariselle A. 2006. Phylogenetic relationships among monogenean gill parasites (Dactylogyridea, Ancyrocephalidae) infesting tilapiine hosts (Cichlidae): systematic and evolutionary implications. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution, 38(1), 241–249. PubMed

Prenter J, Macneil C, Dick JT, Dunn AM. 2004. Roles of parasites in animal invasions. Trends in Ecology and Evolution, 19(7), 385–390. PubMed

Pugachev ON, Gerasev PI, Gussev AV, Ergens R, Khotenowsky I. 2009. Guide to Monogenoidea of freshwater fish of Palearctic and Amur regions. Ledizioni Ledipublishing: Milan: 538 p.

Rahmouni C, Vanhove MPM, Šimková A. 2017. Underexplored diversity of gill monogeneans in cichlids from Lake Tanganyika: eight new species of PubMed PMC

Řehulková E, Mendlová M, Šimková A. 2013. Two new species of PubMed

Stankiewicz J, de Wit MJ. 2006. A proposed drainage evolution model for Central Africa – Did the Congo flow east? Journal of African Earth Sciences, 44(1), 75–84.

Stiassny ML. 1989. A taxonomic revision of the African genus

Vanhove MPM, Hablützel PI, Pariselle A, Šimková A, Huyse T, Raeymaekers JAM. 2016. Cichlids: a host of opportunities for evolutionary parasitology. Trends in Parasitology, 32(10), 820–832. PubMed

Vanhove MPM, Huyse T. 2015. Host specificity and species jumps in fish–parasite systems, in Parasite diversity and diversification. Morand S, Krasnov BR, Littlewood DTJ, Editors Cambridge University Press: Cambridge: p. 401–419.

Vanhove MPM, Van Steenberge M, Dessein S, Volckaert FAM, Snoeks J, Huyse T, Pariselle A. 2013. Biogeographical implications of Zambezian PubMed

Vignon M, Pariselle A, Vanhove MPM. 2011. Modularity in attachment organs of African

Wu XY, Zhu XQ, Xie MQ, Li AX. 2007. The evaluation for generic-level monophyly of Ancyrocephalinae (Monogenea, Dactylogyridae) using ribosomal DNA sequence data. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution, 44, 530–544. PubMed

Zahradničková P, Barson M, Luus-Powell WJ, Přikrylová I. 2016. Species of PubMed

All quiet on the western front? The evolutionary history of monogeneans (Dactylogyridae: Cichlidogyrus, Onchobdella) infecting a West and Central African tribe of cichlid fishes (Chromidotilapiini)

Six new species of Cichlidogyrus Paperna, 1960 (Platyhelminthes: Monogenea) from the gills of cichlids (Teleostei: Cichliformes) from the Lomami River Basin (DRC: Middle Congo)