Spermatological characters of Rhipidocotyle ernsti (Digenea, Bucephalidae), an intestinal parasite of the Darwin’s slimehead Gephyroberyx darwinii (Teleostei: Trachichthyidae) off the Senegalese coast
Diouf, S.D.; Bâ, A.; Bakhoum, A.J.S.; Bâ, C.T.; Bray, R.A.; Marchand, B.; Quilichini, Y. (2026). Spermatological characters of Rhipidocotyle ernsti (Digenea, Bucephalidae), an intestinal parasite of the Darwin’s slimehead Gephyroberyx darwinii (Teleostei: Trachichthyidae) off the Senegalese coast. Zoomorphology 145(1): 5. https://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s00435-025-00762-y
In: Zoomorphology. Springer-Verlag: Berlin; Heidelberg. ISSN 0720-213X; e-ISSN 1432-234X, meer
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| Trefwoorden |
Gephyroberyx darwinii (Johnson, 1866) [WoRMS]; Rhipidocotyle ernsti Reimer, 1985 [WoRMS]
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| Auteurs | | Top |
- Diouf, S.D.
- Bâ, A.
- Bakhoum, A.J.S.
- Bâ, C.T.
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- Bray, R.A.
- Marchand, B.
- Quilichini, Y.
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| Abstract |
The present study describes for the first time the ultrastructural organization of the mature spermatozoon of the bucephalid digenean Rhipidocotyle ernsti collected from the teleost fish Gephyroberyx darwinii (Trachichthyidae) caught off the coast of Dakar (Atlantic Ocean) by means of transmission electron microscopy. This is also the first report of R. ernsti from Senegal and from this fish. The mature spermatozoon of R. ernsti is a filiform cell, tapering at both ends. It presents two axonemes of Trepaxonemata type 9 + “1”, external ornamentation of the plasma membrane located in the anterior region of the spermatozoon and associated with cortical microtubules, two fields of parallel cortical microtubules of which the maximal number is located in the anterior part of the spermatozoon, a mitochondrion, spine-like bodies and a posterior end containing only the nucleus. In comparison with existing ultrastructural data for Rhipidocotyle khalili and other bucephalids described to date, the present results highlight the absence of a lateral expansion in mature R. ernsti spermatozoa. Moreover, the spine-like bodies observed on the male gamete of R. ernsti are absent in R. khalili. |
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