Quadriacanthus amakaliae Kasembele, Bahanak & Vanhove, 2024

Quadriacanthus amakaliae Kasembele, Bahanak & Vanhove , sp. nov.

https://zoobank.org/ 83453616-133F-4558-84E3-0EC86C687CC3

Type-host and locality: C. ngamensis ; DR Congo, Haut-Katanga , Lubanda village, Lake Lubanda 11°04’S, 27°55’E, November 2021, G.K. Kasembele leg. GoogleMaps

Other locality: Luapula River.

Prevalence: P = 6.7% (Lake Lubanda); P = 6.7% (Luapula River).

Mean intensity: Lake Lubanda: 3 ± 0; Luapula River:1 ± 0.

Type-material: The holotype HU #888 and three paratypes HU #889; 890; 987 are deposited in the collection of the Research Group Zoology: Biodiversity & Toxicology, at Hasselt University ( Diepenbeek , Belgium) .

Etymology: This species is named in honour of Annette Megameno Amakali, MSc, of the National Marine Information and Research Centre (NatMIRC), Ministry of Fisheries and Marine Resources, Swakopmund, Namibia, for her contribution in lab work.

Description: Tube-shaped MCO (thick-walled) wide at its base and gradually shrinking towards the distal extremity. Accessory piece articulating with MCO, ending in point and having two filaments on either side of the terminal point. Funnel shaped tubular vagina. Dorsal bar with rectangular centre, median process posteriorly directed and two lateral expansions. Dorsal anchor without shaft nor guard, with broad base, shaft sharply curved, ending with short point. Dorsal cuneus triangular. Ventral bar V-shaped with two lateral branches. Ventral anchor without shaft nor guard, with base smaller than that of dorsal anchor, and curved blade. Ventral cuneus smaller than dorsal one. Seven pairs of hooks: pair IV bigger than the rest which are almost equal in length ( Fig. 5 View Figure 5 ).

Remarks: Quadriacanthus amakaliae sp. nov. is comparable to Q. barombiensis Bahanak, Nack & Pariselle, 2022 , Q. levequei Birgi, 1988 and Q. anaspidoglanii Akoumba, Pariselle & Tombi, 2017 , described in Cameroon from C. maclareni , C. pachynema and Anaspidoglanis macrostoma , respectively, by the shape of the dorsal bar median process, the tubular shape of the MCO which is enlarged at the basal zone and tapered at the distal end, and the shape of the accessory piece ending in a point. However, some differences differentiate them, namely: (i) the dorsal bar postero-median process without filaments at its end vs two filaments present in Q. barombiensis and Q. levequei ; (ii) the morphology of the distal extremity of the accessory piece with one small hook surrounded by two filaments vs simply one small hook in Q. barombiensis and Q. anaspidoglanii and two small hooks in Q. levequei ; (iii) the difference in the size of the following sclerotized parts for Q. amakaliae sp. nov. vs Q. barombiensis : MCO (34–37.9) vs (25–29), AP (29–33) vs (20–26).