Host Relationships and Geographic Distribution of Species of Blanchard, 1848 (Onchoproteocephalidea, Onchobothriidae) in Elasmobranchs: A Metadata Analysis

Authors

Francisco Zaragoza-Tapia, Universidad Autónoma del Estado de HidalgoFollow
Griselda Pulido-Flores, Universidad Autónoma del Estado de Hidalgo & University of Nebraska-LincolnFollow
Scott L. Gardner, University of Nebraska-LincolnFollow
Scott Monks, Universidad Autónoma del Estado de Hidalgo & University of Nebraska-LincolnFollow

Date of this Version

2020

Document Type

Article

Citation

ZooKeys (2020) 940: 1–49

https://doi.org/10.3897/zookeys.940.46352

Abstract

Species of Acanthobothrium have been documented as parasites of the spiral intestine of elasmobranchs. Results of a metadata analysis indicate that 114 species of elasmobranchs have been reported as hosts of 200 species of Acanthobothrium. The metadata analysis revealed that 3.7% of species of sharks and 14.9% of species of rays that have been reported as hosts to date; some species are parasitized by more than one species of Acanthobothrium. This work provides a Category designation, as proposed by Ghoshroy and Caira (2001), for each species of Acanthobothrium. These Category designations are a tool to facilitate comparisons among members of Acanthobothrium for descriptions of new species in the future.