Lethacotyle is a genus of polyopisthocotylean monogeneans, included in the family Protomicrocotylidae. The genus includes only two species: Lethacotyle fijiensis Manter & Price, 1953 Manter, H. W. & Price, D. F. 1953: Some Monogenetic Trematodes of marine fishes from Fiji. Proceedings of the Helminthological Society of Washington, 20, 105-112. , the type-species of the genus, and Lethacotyle vera Justine, Rahmouni, Gey, Schoelinck, & Hoberg, 2013 . Both species are parasitic on the gills of jacks in the Pacific Ocean.Ramalingam, K. 1966: A rare record of Lethacotyle (Monogenea), its post-oncomiracidial larva with observation on distribution. Current Science, 35, 101-102 PDF.Ramalingam, K. 1968: A redescription of Lethacotyle (Monogenea) and its post-oncomiracidial larva. Journal of the Madras University B, 35-36, 107-114. They are known only from three localities: off Fiji, Andaman Islands, and New Caledonia.
The genus Lethacotyle is special in that its members have no clamps on their posterior attachment organ or haptor, in contrast to most polyopisthocotylean Monogenean which have clamps.Bychowsky, B. E. (1961). Monogenetic Trematodes their systematics and phylogeny. English translation edited by W. J. Hargis Jr. Washington: American Institute of Biological Sciences Archive.org.Hayward, C. (2005). Monogenea Polyopisthocotylea (ectoparasitic flukes). In K. Rohde (Ed.), Marine Parasitology (pp. 55-63): CSIRO, Collingwood, Australia & CABI, Oxon, UK. This is reflected in the etymology of the name, which, according to Manter & Price is "from letha = forgetting, and cotyle = cup, and refers to the absence of clamps".
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External links
Parasite of the day Blog: "Lethacotyle vera" PLoSONE Blog: "Fish beware: a new species of parasite is discovered"