Heliocotyle kartasi gen. et sp. n. (Monogenea : Monocotylidae) parasitic on Pteromylaeus bovinus (Euselachii : Myliobatinae) from Tunisia

Nine Pteromylaeus bovinus (E. Geoffroy St. Hilaire) (Euselachii: Myliobatin ae) from the Tunisian coast were examined for ectoparasites during 1995, 19 96 and 1997. A monogenean found on the gills of seven host specimens is des cribed as a new species and a new genus, Heliocotyle, is proposed to accomo date it. The presence of a single sclerotized haptoral structure on the dor sal surface of the haptor leads us to place this species in the Heterocotyl inae Chisholm, Wheeler et Beverley-Burton, 1995. The genus Heliocotyle is c haracterized by a haptor with only one dorsal structure and seven loculi, s ix being subdivided by pseudosepta. Heliocotyle kartasi sp. n. is the type and the only species in this genus.