Phylogenetic analysis and revision of <i>Kroeyerina</i> Wilson, 1932 (Siphonostomatoida: Kroyeriidae), copepods parasitic on chondrichthyans, with descriptions of four new species and the erection of a new genus, <i>Prokroyeria</i>

Abstract

Four new species of Kroeyerina Wilson, 1932, are described and redescriptions of the previously known species are given. Phylogenetic analysis of the genus Kroeyerina produces a cladogram that indicates that Kroeyerina meridionalis Ramirez, 1975 warrants its own generic status. The genus Prokroyeria is established to accommodate K. meridionalis, the only member of the Kroyeriidae Kabata, 1979 that infests holocephalan branchial lamellae. Higher level (more inclusive) analysis of the genera within the family further corroborates this systematic restructuring. The hierarchical relationships of the species constituting Kroeyerina and the intrafamilial relationships of the genera within Kroyeriidae are congruent with some of the recently proposed patterns of their chondrichthyan hosts' evolution.