Lacistorhynchidae family 28S alignment

Aim: Trypanorhyncha cestodes comprise a wide range of heteroxenous parasites infecting elasmobranchs as definitive hosts, with crustaceans, squids, and fishes acting as intermediate/paratenic hosts. Limited data exist on the larval infection of these cestodes and the role of intermediate and paratenic hosts in the life cycle of these parasites. In this study, we investigated the factors that determine the occurrence and the level of infection of Grillotia plerocerci in the skeletal muscles of various deep sea benthonic sharks and analysed the parasites through an integrative taxonomic approach.

Location: Gulf of Naples, Mediterranean Sea.

Methods: Sharks obtained as bycatch of commercial trawling activities (i.e., Etmopterus spinax, Galeus melastomus and Scyliorhinus canicula) were used in this study. Data from a limited number of Dalatias licha and Scyliorhinus stellaris were also included. Grillotia plerocerci were molecularly characterized using the partial 28S large subunit rD...