Abstract
A novel myxosporean species,
Ceratomyxa azevedoi
sp. n. is described from the gallbladder of the blackspot snapper,
Lutjanus ehrenbergii
(Peters), captured from the Arabian Gulf off Saudi Arabia
.
A total of 45 (26.8%) out of 168 fish specimens were found to be infected with
Ceratomyxa azevedoi
sp. n., the highest prevalence being observed in winter (42.9%, 18/42) and the lowest in autumn (11.9%, 5/42). Mature spores appeared as crescent to slightly elliptical-shaped, measuring 5–7 (6) μm in length and 12 (10–14) μm in thickness, with spherical polar capsules containing three polar filament coils. The morphometric and morphological comparison with similar species revealed the taxonomic novelty of this form, suggesting that it should be considered as new species. The phylogenetic analysis of
C. azevedoi
sp. n., based on partial SSU rDNA sequences, revealed close genetic relatedness to
C. buri
with 91.3% homogeneity and to
C. hamour
, with 90.1% homogeneity.