Saccocoelium megasacculum N. sp., a new haploporid trematode from Liza carinatus in the Taiwan Strait

Abstract

Haploporidae is a relatively small family of Digenea, with 15 genera and about 60 species belonging to 4 subfamilies. Our knowledge about marine haploporids in China is quite limited. Lu (1993) described Saccocoelioides huidongensis Lu, 1993 from Mugil parvus near a shallow sea in Guangdong Province. Lu (1995) described a second species of haploporid as Elonginurus mugilus Lu, 1995 from M. cephalus in Guangdong Province. Saccocoelioides lizae Liu, 2002 was described from Liza carinatus in the Taiwan Strait (Liu, 2002). Liu and Yang (2002) described the only other species from Chinese waters, i.e., Hoploporus mugilis Liu and Yang, 2002, from Valamugil engeli in the Taiwan Strait. In a recent helminthological survey of marine fishes in the Taiwan Strait, L. carinatus (Cuvier et Valenciennes) (Pisces: Mugilidae) was found to harbor the new species of Saccocoelium that is described herein.