Lethacotyle
Lethacotyle
Genus of flatworms
Lethacotyle is a genus of polyopisthocotylean monogeneans, included in the family Protomicrocotylidae.
The genus includes only two species: Lethacotyle fijiensis Manter & Price, 1953
[2]
, the type-species of the genus, and Lethacotyle vera Justine, Rahmouni, Gey, Schoelinck, & Hoberg, 2013
.[1]
Both species are parasitic on the gills of jacks in the Pacific Ocean.[1][2][3][4] They are known only from three localities: off Fiji,[2] Andaman Islands,[3][4] and New Caledonia.[1]
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.[5][6] This is reflected in the etymology of the name, which, according to Manter & Price[2] is "from letha = forgetting, and cotyle = cup, and refers to the absence of clamps".