Morphometric and molecular analyses of Skrjabinolecithum pyriforme n. sp. (Digenea: Haploporidae) in mullet fish from the Primorsky Region, Russia.

A new species of Skrjabinolecithum (Digenea: Waretrematinae), Skrjabinolecithum pyriforme n. sp., has been found in the intestines of Liza haematocheila and Mugil cephalus from the Primorsky Region, Russia. These worms differ from S. vitellosum and S. lobolecithum by the presence of two caeca, as do S. spasskii, S. indicum and S. bengalensis. These species differ morphologically from S. pyriforme n. sp. by a number of features, including body width, oral sucker, pharynx, eggs and ratio of length and width of the body. The most similar species to S. pyriforme n. sp. is Platydidymus flecterotestis (Zhukov, 1971) with some differences in maximal body length, testis and egg sizes. The results of molecular analysis confirmed that this new species belongs to Skrjabinolecithum on the basis of close relationships with S. spasskii-type species.