Fish blood flukes (Digenea: Aporocotylidae) from marine fishes of South Africa, including proposal of a new genus

Novel records of marine fish-infecting blood flukes (Aporocotylidae Odhner, 1912) were obtained from several locations across the South African coastline. These constitute the first records of aporocotylid flukes from the region. A new genus, <i>Paraskoulekia</i>, is proposed for two new species of aporocotylids found in the hearts of Hottentot seabream, <i>Pachymetopon blochii</i> (Valenciennes) and bronze seabream, <i>Pachymetopon grande</i> Günther (Sparidae). The two species show close morphological affinities to the sparid-infecting genus <i>Skoulekia</i> Alama-Bermejo, Montero, Raga & Holzer, 2011 and are phylogenetically sister to species of that genus, but are genetically distant from them and differ in key aspects of morphology, namely in having a medially-positioned ovary, the uterine coils not lateral or anterior to the ovary and the cirrus-sac being posterior or at least lateral to the rest of the genitalia. <i>Cardicola mediterraneus</i> Palacios-Abella, Montero, Merella, Mele, Raga & Repullés-Albelda, 2021 is reported from the heart of zebra seabream, <i>Diplodus hottentotus</i> (Smith) (Sparidae), and <i>Skoulekia meningialis</i> Alama-Bermejo, Montero, Raga & Holzer, 2011 from the eyes of musselcracker seabream, <i>Sparodon durbanensis</i> (Castelnau) (Sparidae), marking the first time these species have been reported outside the western Mediterranean Sea. In addition, a species of <i>Deontacylix</i> Linton, 1910) is recorded from blue seachub, <i>Kyphosus cinerascens</i> (Forsskål) (Kyphosidae) and is contextualised within the global understanding of species of that genus.