Two new species of Acanthocotyle Monticelli, 1888 (Monogenea: Acanthocotylidae), parasites of two deep-sea skates (Elasmobranchii: Rajiformes) in the South-East Pacific

BACKGROUND: Parasites of deep-sea fishes from the South-East Pacific (SPO) are poorly known. Of c.1030 species of fish found in this area, 100–150 inhabit the deep-sea (deeper than 200 m). Only six articles concerning metazoan parasites of fish from deep-waters of SOP are known, and nine monogenean species have been reported. Currently, ten species are known in Acanthocotyle Monticelli, 1888 (Monogenea) and when stated, all of them are found in shallow waters (10–100 m). Acanthocotyle gurgesiella Ñacari, Sepulveda, Escribano & Oliva, 2018 is the only known species parasitizing deep-sea skates (350–450 m) in the SPO. The aim of this study was the description of two new species of Acanthocotyle from two Rajiformes. METHODS: In September 2017, we examined specimens of two species of deep-sea skates (Rajiformes), Amblyraja frerichsi (Krefft) and Bathyraja peruana McEachran & Myyake, caught at c.1500 m depth off Tocopilla, northern Chile, as a by-catch of the Patagonian tooth fish Dissostichus eleginoides Smitt fishery. Specimens of Acanthocotyle were collected from the skin of the skates. Morphometric (including multivariate analysis of proportional measurements, standardized by total length), morphological and molecular analyses (LSU rRNA and cox1 genes) were performed in order to identify the collected specimens. RESULTS: The three approaches used in this study strongly suggest the presence of two new species in the genus Acanthocotyle: Acanthocotyle imo n. sp. and Acanthocotyle atacamensis n. sp. parasitizing the skin of the thickbody skate Amblyraja frerichsi and the Peruvian skate Bathyraja peruana, respectively. The main morphological differences from the closely related species Acanthocotyle verrilli Goto, 1899 include the number of radial rows of sclerites, the non-discrete vitelline follicles and the number of testes. CONCLUSIONS: The two species of monogeneans described here are the only recorded parasites from their respective host species in the SPO. Assessing host specificity for members of Acanthocotyle requires clarifying the systematics of Rajiformes. [Image: see text]