Diplectanocotyla Yamaguti, 1953

Domingues, Marcus V. & Boeger, Walter A., 2008, Phylogeny and revision of Diplectanidae Monticelli, 1903 (Platyhelminthes: Monogenoidea), Zootaxa 1698, pp. 1-40 : 16

Diplectanocotyla Yamaguti, 1953 sedis mutabilis

Diagnosis: Tegument scaled. Eyes present (2 pairs). Genital pore opening anterior to male copulatory organ (MCO). Genital atrium muscular. Vas deferens looping left intestinal caecum. MCO tubular, simple. Accessory piece present, lacking articulation with MCO. Prostatic reservoir simple. Vagina dextral; vaginal atrium sclerotized. Egg unknown. Accessory adhesive organ present [7], ventral, dorsal squamodiscs; anterior rows of rodlets with open rings. Peduncular spines [9]. Superficial root of ventral anchor conspicuous. Ventral and dorsal haptoral suckers, [8]. Two ventral bars [10] each with longitudinal groove [11]. Parasites of marine fishes ( Megalopidae : Elopiformes ).

Type species: D. gracilis Yamaguti, 1953 from Megalops cyprinoides (Broussonet) (Megalopidae)

Other species: D. langkawiensis Lim & Gibson, 2007 from Megalops cyprinoides ; D. megalopis Rakotofiringa & Oliver, 1987 from Megalops atlanticus Valenciennes , Megalops cyprinoides ; D. parva Lim & Gibson, 2007 from Megalops cyprinoides .

Remarks: Rakotofiringa and Oliver (1987) proposed Diplectanocotylidae Rakotofiringa & Oliver, 1987 to allocate Diplectanocotyla based on the presence of haptoral suckers and four haptoral bars (2 ventral, 2 dorsal). However, Mendoza-Franco et al. (2004) rejected Diplectanocotylidae returning Diplectanocotyla to Diplectanidae as originally proposed by Yamaguti (1963), based on sharing features within Diplectanidae (e.g. germarium looping right of intestinal caecum, accessory adhesive organ).