Speciation of the Paradeontacylix spp. (Sanguinicolidae) of Seriola dumerili. Two new species of the genus Paradeontacylix from the Mediterranean

Two new species of teleost blood fluke belonging to the sanguinicolid genus Paradeontacylix are described from the greater amberjack, Seriola dumerili, i.e. Paradeontacylix ibericus n. sp. from the Iberian Peninsula and Paradeontacylix balearicus n. sp. from the Balearic Islands. P. ibericus n. sp. and P. balearicus n. sp. show morphological similarities with Paradeontacylix kampachi and Paradeontacylix grandispinus respectively, which occur in mixed infection in S. dumerili from Japan. Multivariate analysis of morphometrical data provided statistical evidence for the separation of four species. However, component by component analysis did not show statistically significant differences between P. balearicus and P. grandispinus. Molecular data based on rITS2 and mCO1 gene sequences also supported the separation into four species. Morphological and molecular data were used to examine phylogenetic relationships between Paradeontacylix species from S. dumerili and other species in the genus. The results coincided in revealing two main branches with P. kampachi + P. ibericus and (((P. grandispinus + P. balearicus) Paradeontacylix sanguinicoloides) Paradeontacylix godfreyi). Paradeontacylix odhneri, for which little data are available, was located basal in a separate branch. This is the only species of Paradeontacylix which parasitizes a non-carangid host which might probably explain the separation from the other species. Paired similarities between the Japanese and the Mediterranean species, despite the large geographic distance, could be explained by the speciation of parasite geminate lines before host separation by tectonic events. Consequently, geographic and historical isolation support the morphological and genetic differences leading to the evolution of the new species described here.