Gyrodactylus cytophagus Paperna, 1968

(Figure 9; Tables 4 and 7)

Type host: Aplocheilichthys pumilis Boulenger (“Tanganyika lampeye”).

Site of infection: Skin.

Type locality: Akuse Lagoon, Adutor Lagoon and Nungua Dam, Ghana.

Type material examined: One paratype (MRAC-M.T.35.944) from A. pumilis collected from the swamps of Malaba river, Uganda.

Comments: This represents the only currently known gyrodactylid described from a poeciliid originating from the Afrotropics. Although the overall marginal hook sickle dimensions of G. cytophagus and G. j a ro c h o sp. nov. are similar, the two can be readily separated (Figure 10). The sickle base of G. cytophagus is more slender, approximately rhomboid with a slightly curved underside rising towards the toe. The sickle base of G. jarocho sp. nov. by comparison is deeper, more triangular in shape with a heel that is roughly double the size of that of G. cytophagus. The shaft of G. cytophagus gently curves into the point region which terminates in line with the toe. The large curved open face of the marginal hook sickle of G. cytophagus is a marked contrast to the smaller, more closed aperture of G. xalapensis sp. nov. (Figure 11). The PCA plots (Figures 30, 31) and the component loadings (Table 5) suggest, however, that features of the hamuli are key to the separation of G. cytophagus from G. jarocho sp. nov.