''Microcotyle aigoi'' is a species of monogenean, parasitic on the gills of a marine fish. It belongs to the family Microcotylidae.石井信太郎・澤田利貞 (1937). 外部寄生性吸蟲類ノ研究. 日本寄生虫学会記事 9: 93-97. (Ishii, N. and Sawada, T. (1937). tudies on the ectoparasitic trematodes Nihon Kiseichū Gakkai Kiji 9: 3-97.

n Japanese N, or n, is the fourteenth letter in the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''en'' (pronounced ), plural ''ens''. History ...

Morphology

''Microcotyle aigoi'' is 2-3.7 mm in length and 0.2-0.4 mm in width and has the general morphology of all species of ''

Microcotyle ''Microcotyle'' is a genus which belongs to the phylum Platyhelminthes and class Monogenea. Species of ''Microcotyle'' are ectoparasites that affect their host by attaching themselves as larvae on the gills of the fish and grow into adult stage ...

'', with a flat body, comprising an anterior part which contains most organs and a posterior part called the haptor. The haptor is symmetrical and bears a number of clamps, arranged as two rows, one on each side. The clamps of the haptor attach the animal to the gill of the fish. There are also two small buccal suckers at the anterior extremity. The digestive organs include an anterior, terminal mouth, a muscular pharynx, and a posterior intestine with two lateral blind-ending branches. Each adult contains male and female reproductive organs. The reproductive organs include an anterior genital atrium, with spines, a dorsal vagina, a single

ovary The ovary is an organ in the female reproductive system that produces an ovum. When released, this travels down the fallopian tube into the uterus, where it may become fertilized by a sperm. There is an ovary () found on each side of the body. ...

, and a number of testes which are posterior to the ovary.

Etymology

The species name ''aigoi'' is after the Japanese name of the host fish, ''Aigo''.Ishii, Nobutaro, & Sawada, Toshisada (1938). Studies on the ectoparasitic trematodes. Livro jubilar do Professor Lauro Travassos. Editado para commemorar o 25 anniversario de suas actividades scientificas (1913-1938). pp.231-243. Rio de Janeiro.

Hosts and localities

The type-host is the Mottled spinefoot ''

Siganus fuscescens ''Siganus fuscescens'', the mottled spinefoot, black rabbitfish, black spinefoot, dusky rabbitfish, fuscous rabbitfish, happy moments, mi mi, pearl-spotted spinefoot, pin-spotted spinefoot, stinging bream or West Australian rabbitfish, is a specie ...

'' (

Siganidae Rabbitfishes or spinefoots are perciform fishes in the family Siganidae. The 29 species are in a single genus, ''Siganus''. In some now obsolete classifications, the species having prominent face stripes—colloquially called foxfaces– ...

) and the type-locality is off

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

. In the same paper, Ishii and Sawada also described another species, '' Microcotyle mouwoi'', also from ''

'' and from another fish.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q59388794 Microcotylidae Parasites of fish Fauna of Japan