Aethycteron robisoni n. sp. (Monogenea: Ancyrocephalidae) from the sunburst darter, Etheostoma mihileze Mayden (Perciformes: Percidae), in Arkansas, USA.

ABSTRACT

Aethycteron robisoni n. sp. is described from the sunburst darter, Etheostoma mihileze Mayden (Perciformes Percidae), in the Arkansas River Drainage of the Ozark Region in the Central Highlands of Arkansas, USA. Aethycteron robisoni morphologically most closely resembles A. caerulei Suriano & Beverley-Burton, 1982, A. moorei (Mizelle, 1940) and A. nigrei Suriano & Beverly-Burton, 1982, by possessing a male copulatory organ with a distinct distal curvature and spiraling sheath. The haptoral sclerites of A. robisoni, with the exception of the hooks, are distinctly larger than those of the other three species. This is the first time a monogenean parasite has been reported from E. mihileze as well as the first time the genus Aethycteron Suriano & Beverley-Burton, 1982 has been reported from Arkansas, USA.