Acanthocephala from seven species of freshwater fish (Cyprinidae and Cyprinodontidae) from Turkey with the description of a new species of Paralongicollum (Pomphorhynchidae)

Abstract

Seven species of endemic freshwater fish, Aphanius anatoliae, Aphanius villwocki (Cyprinodontidae), Capoeta angorae, Capoeta erhani, Capoeta mauricii, Chondrostoma fahirae, and Pseudophoxinus fahrettini (Cyprinidae) from Turkey were examined for acanthocephalans. Acanthocephalus sp., Neoechinorhynchus zabensis, Pomphorhynchus spindletruncatus, and Paralongicollum nurtenae n. sp. were found. The new species can be distinguished from its congeners by a suite of characters including the shape of the proboscis, which has an armature of 16-22 rows of 10-13 hooks, the posterior most circle of hooks alternating. All are new host and locality records. The geographic distributions of N. zabensis and P. spindletruncatus in Turkey may be due in part to changes in glacial river system connections that have occurred since the Pleistocene.