Article · Wikipedia archive · Last revised Jul 31, 2026

Lethacotyle

Lethacotyle is a genus of polyopisthocotylean monogeneans, included in the family Protomicrocotylidae. The genus includes only two species: Lethacotyle fijiensis Manter & Price, 1953 , the type-species of the genus, and Lethacotyle vera Justine, Rahmouni, Gey, Schoelinck, & Hoberg, 2013 . Both species are parasitic on the gills of jacks in the Pacific Ocean. They are known only from three localities: off Fiji, Andaman Islands, and New Caledonia. The genus Lethacotyle is special in that its members have no clamps on their posterior attachment organ or haptor, in contrast to most polyopisthocotylean Monogenean which have clamps. This is reflected in the etymology of the name, which, according to Manter & Price is "from letha = forgetting, and cotyle = cup, and refers to the absence of clamps".

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Lethacotyle
Holotype of Lethacotyle fijiensis Manter & Prince, 19531
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Platyhelminthes
Class: Monogenea
Order: Mazocraeidea
Family: Protomicrocotylidae
Genus: Lethacotyle
Manter & Price, 1953
Species

Lethacotyle is a genus of polyopisthocotylean monogeneans, included in the family Protomicrocotylidae.
The genus includes only two species: Lethacotyle fijiensis Manter & Price, 1953 2 , the type-species of the genus, and Lethacotyle vera Justine, Rahmouni, Gey, Schoelinck, & Hoberg, 2013 .1 Both species are parasitic on the gills of jacks in the Pacific Ocean.1234 They are known only from three localities: off Fiji,2 Andaman Islands,34 and New Caledonia.1
The genus Lethacotyle is special in that its members have no clamps on their posterior attachment organ or haptor, in contrast to most polyopisthocotylean Monogenean which have clamps.56 This is reflected in the etymology of the name, which, according to Manter & Price2 is "from letha = forgetting, and cotyle = cup, and refers to the absence of clamps".

References

References

  1. Justine J-L, Rahmouni C, Gey D, Schoelinck C, Hoberg EP (2013). "The Monogenean which lost its clamps". PLOS ONE. 8 (11) e79155. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0079155. PMC 3838368. PMID 24278118.
  2. Manter, H. W. & Price, D. F. 1953: Some Monogenetic Trematodes of marine fishes from Fiji. Proceedings of the Helminthological Society of Washington, 20, 105-112.
  3. Ramalingam, K. 1966: A rare record of Lethacotyle (Monogenea), its post-oncomiracidial larva with observation on distribution. Current Science, 35, 101-102 PDF.
  4. Ramalingam, K. 1968: A redescription of Lethacotyle (Monogenea) and its post-oncomiracidial larva. Journal of the Madras University B, 35-36, 107-114.
  5. Bychowsky, B. E. (1961). Monogenetic Trematodes their systematics and phylogeny. English translation edited by W. J. Hargis Jr. Washington: American Institute of Biological Sciences Archive.org.
  6. Hayward, C. (2005). Monogenea Polyopisthocotylea (ectoparasitic flukes). In K. Rohde (Ed.), Marine Parasitology (pp. 55-63): CSIRO, Collingwood, Australia & CABI, Oxon, UK.
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