Redescription of Acanthogyrus (Acanthosentis) maroccanus (Dollfus, 1951) (Acanthocephala: Quadrigyridae), a parasite of the Algerian barb Luciobarbus callensis (Valenciennes) (Cyprinidae) in Algeria, and first molecular data

Acanthogyrus (Acanthosentis) maroccanus (Dollfus, 1951), an insufficiently described quadrigyrid acanthocephalan of cyprinid fishes from Northwest Africa, is redescribed based on recently collected specimens from the Algerian barb Luciobarbus callensis (Valenciennes) in Algeria. Newly observed morphological features for A. (A.) maroccanus include the arrangement of proboscis hooks (not in regular circles), the male reproductive structures extending into the copulatory bursa and the presence of a para-receptacle structure and vaginal sleeve. The mechanism of copulation of this acanthocephalan is described based on several copulating pairs. The phylogenetic position of A. (A.) maroccanus within Eoacanthocephala was assessed based on partial 28S rDNA sequences. Maximum likelihood and Bayesian inference analyses placed A. (A.) maroccanus in a clade with Palliolisentis (Demidueterospinus) ophiocephalus (Thapar, 1931), both species included in the Quadrigyridae, the only family within the Gyracanthocephala.