Lepidotrema Johnston & Tiegs, 1922

Domingues, Marcus V. & Boeger, Walter A., 2008, Phylogeny and revision of Diplectanidae Monticelli, 1903 (Platyhelminthes: Monogenoidea), Zootaxa 1698, pp. 1-40 : 27

Lepidotrema Johnston & Tiegs, 1922

Synonymy: Empleurodiscus Johnston & Tiegs, 1922; Flabellodiscus Johnston & Tiegs, 1922; Squamodiscus Yamaguti, 1934 .

Diagnosis: Tegument smooth or scaled. Genital pore opening anterior to male copulatory organ (MCO) [50]. Genital atrium muscular. Vas deferens intercaecal or looping left intestinal caecum. MCO tubular, composed of 2 nested tubes; external tube twisted [49]. Accessory piece absent. Prostatic reservoir simple. Accessory copulatory organ absent. Vaginal atrium sclerotized [51]. Vaginal aperture marginal. Squamodiscs, ventral, dorsal; anterior rows of rodlets with open rings. Accessory spines associated with the posterior region of the haptor [48]. Superficial root of ventral anchor reduced. Parasites of freshwater and marine perciform fishes ( Terapontidae ).

Type species: L. therapon Johnston & Tiegs, 1922 from Hephaestus carbo (Ogilby & McCulloch) .

Other species: L. angustum ( Johnston & Tiegs, 1922) Price, 1937 from Leiopotherapon unicolor (Günther) ; L. bidyana Murray, 1931 from Bidyanus bidyanus (Mitchell) ; L. fuliginosum Johnston & Tiegs, 1922 from Hephaestus fuliginosus Macleay ; L. kuwaitensis Kritsky, Jiménez-Ruiz & Sey, 2000 from Terapon puta Cuvier ; L. longipenis ( Yamaguti, 1934) Kritsky, Jiménez-Ruiz & Sey, 2000 from Rhynchopelates oxyrhynchus (Temminck & Schlegel) ; L. simplex ( Johnston & Tiegs, 1922) Price, 1937 from Hephaestus fuliginosus ; L. tenue Johnston & Tiegs, 1922 from Scortum hillii (Castelnau) .

Remarks: Bychowsky (1957) suggested the homology between spines in the peduncle (peduncular spines, sensu Domingues & Boeger 2006) of Rhamnocercinae (see comments above) and squamodiscs of members of Lepidotrema . Although our analysis did not support the homology between these structures, Lepidotrema appears as sister group of Spinomatrix + Rhamnocercus + Rhamnocercoides (in clade “R”) within Diplectaninae, based on the presence of accessory spines associated with the posterior region of the haptor [48] and MCO tubular, composed of 2 nested tubes; external tube twisted [49].