Abstract
Helminthological examinations of the red mullet Mullus barbatus (Linnaeus) (Mullidae) from the Gulf of Hammamet, off Tunisia, revealed the presence of one undescribed gonad-infecting nematode species, Philometra barbata n. sp. (Philometridae). The new species as other congeneric species is mainly characterized by the shape of the caudal mound, the distribution of the caudal papillae and the shape of the gubernaculum with the presence of a dorsal protuberance consisting of two dorsolateral lamellar parts separated from each other by a smooth median field in the male. The new species differs from its gonadinfecting congeners in the body length of male, the length of spicules and gubernaculum. This is the second nominal species of Philometra reported from fishes of the family Mullidae and the 14th from the Mediterranean Sea.
Conflict of interest statement. The authors declare no conflict of interest.
Acknowledgements
Authors’ thanks are due to Janneth Padilla from ECOSUR and Blanka Škoríková for help with illustrations and the staff of the laboratory of Electron Microscopy, both from the Institute of Parasitology, Biology Centre of the Czech Academy of Sciences, České Budějovice. This study was funded by the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research of Tunisia, Research Unit Bio-Ecology and Evolutionary Systematics, and the Czech Science Foundation (Project P505/12/G112) and the Institute of Parasitology (RVO 60077344).
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