Coptodon

Abstract: A study of gill parasites from fishes of the subgenus Coptodon Regan, 1920 (Cichlidae), namely Tilapia coffea Thys van den Audenaerde, T. dageti Thys van den Audenaerde, T. guineensis (Bleeker), T. louka Thys van den Audenaerde, T. walteri Thys van den Audenaerde and T. zillii (Gervais), from different locations in West Africa (Burkina Fasso, Congo, Ivory Coast, Guinea, Mali and Senegal), revealed the presence of 19 species of Cichlidogyrus Paperna, 1960 (Monogenea, Ancyrocephalidae). Six are considered new species: C. amphoratus n. sp., C. levequei n. sp., C. microscutus n. sp., C. ornatus n. sp., C. ouedraogoi n. sp. and C. yanni n. sp. The host-specificity of these parasites is discussed.

Abstract: A total of 1 847 fishes (16 species) from 14 reservoirs in northern and north-eastern regions of South Africa were collected and examined for larval Contracaecum spp. between 2005 and 2013. This study, the first to examine several potential second intermediate hosts, found Clarias gariepinus, Coptodon rendalli, Cyprinus carpio, Hydrocynus vittatus, Labeobarbus marequensis, Marcusenius macrolepidotus, Micropterus salmoides, Oreochromis mossambicus and Schilbe intermedius infected with the third-stage larvae. Coptodon rendalli, Marcusenius macrolepidotus and Micropterus salmoides are new host records for South Africa. A generalised linear model identified locality as the main factor affecting parasite burden.

Abstract: The flatworms of the genus Cichlidogyrus Paperna, 1960 (Monogenea: Ancyrocephalidae) are gill parasites of freshwater fish, affecting predominantly the family Cichlidae. Cichlidogyrus tiberianus Paperna, 1960 and Cichlidogyrus dossoui Douellou, 1993 are among the most widely distributed species of the genus, occurring in several African river basins and infecting many different host species, including the economically important Nile tilapia Oreochromis niloticus (Linnaeus) and redbreast tilapia Coptodon rendalli (Boulenger). Despite their wide distribution, C. tiberianus and C. dossoui have so far been studied only by light microscopy. In this paper they are redescribed on the basis of scanning electron microscopy of newly-collected material. The new material was obtained from redbreast tilapia caught in the Luapula River (D. R. Congo). The haptoral sclerites and genitalia are redescribed and illustrated in detail. Special attention is given to the complex morphology of the male copulatory organ.

Abstract: The Tilapiine complexes are made up of diverse species, hence the need for proper identification. Samples of tilapia species belonging to the family of Cichlidae obtained from Upper Benue River and Lake Geriyo landing sites were used for this study. Fish species were morphologically identified in situ by visual inspection with the aid of field guide for taxonomic studies. DNA was extracted from fresh fish tissue and the barcode gene region cytochrome c oxidase subunit 1 (co1) was amplified using the FishF1 and FishR1 primer pair. Amplified products were visualized on 1% agarose gel electrophoresis, purified and sequenced using Genetic Analyzer (Applied Biosystems 3130 XL). Four species (Oreochromis niloticus, Sarotherodon galilaeus, Sarotherodon galilaeus boulengeri and Coptodon zillii) belonging to three genera (Oreochromis, Sarotherodon and Coptodon) were identified in the study area. From our sampling survey, Oreochromis niloticus was the most dominant species in both areas, followed by Coptodon zillii. Sarotherodon spp. was not present in Upper Benue River but present in Lake Geriyo (an ox-bow lake of Upper Benue River). A new sub-species of Sarotherodon galilaeus known as Sarotherodon galilaeus boulengeri was identified in this study from the sequencing result. This species has never been reported in any literature to be present in Nigeria, which further confirmed the efficacy of DNA barcoding in the identification of cryptic species. The phylogenetic relationship and genetic distance between generic groups obtained in this study was in concordance with the hypothesis of Trewavas that the mouth brooders Orechromis niloticus and Sarotherodon galilaeus are more closely related to each other than the substrate brooders (Tilapia zillii).