Species of Ligictaluridus (Monogenoidea: Dactylogyridae) Parasitizing Large Catfishes (Siluriformes: Ictaluridae) from Arkansas, Oklahoma, and Texas

Abstract

Three species of Ligictaluridus (Monogenoidea: Dactylogyridae) were found on large ictalurid catfishes in Arkansas, Oklahoma, and Texas. We provide the second report of Ligictaluridus michaelalicea from the gills of the Flathead Catfish (Pylodictis olivaris) but the first report from Lake Texoma, Oklahoma, and the Mississippi River, Arkansas. The species, originally described in 2018 from the upper Mississippi River in Iowa and Wisconsin, appears to be restricted to P. olivaris. Ligictaluridus michaelalicea was found in mixed infections with L. mirabilis and L. pricei on P. olivaris. We also document new distributional records for L. mirabilis and L. pricei on Blue Catfish (Ictalurus furcatus) from Lake Texoma, and Channel Catfish (Ictalurus punctatus) from Lake Texoma and the Verdigris River, Oklahoma. We suggest that previous records of L. floridanus from Arkansas, Oklahoma, and Texas be considered as L. mirabilis.