Estimating diversity of Neotropical monogenean (Platyhelminthes) fish parasites

This BioProject contains DNA barcode records generated by a project that examined monogenean diversity using morphological and molecular data in order to unravel patterns of parasite diversity and distribution in the Neotropics associated with their hosts. The class Monogenea is a diverse group of platyhelminthes that parasitize primarily on the external surfaces and gills of marine and freshwater fishes. Monogeneans are strictly parasitic, they have a direct life cycle, with a short free-living larval stage during which they actively infest a new host, and are generally species-specific with regard to their hosts (Pariselle et al. 2011). All samples were morphologically identified prior to molecular analysis. All DNA barcode records were generated with support from the federally-funded Smithsonian Institution DNA Barcode Network.