A new species of Anisakis Dujardin, 1845 (Nematoda, Anisakidae) from beaked whales (Ziphiidae): allozyme and morphological evidence

Larvae and adults of Anisakis, recovered from the beaked whales Mesoplodon layardii and Ziphius cavirostris from the Mediterranean Sea and South African waters, were analysed morphologically and by molecular markers (allozymes). A new Anisakis species was identified, showing fixed allele differences at a number of loci from the other Anisakis spp, tested (A. simplex complex, A. physeteris). The lack of hybrid or recombinant genotypes in mixed infections with A. pegreffi, A. simplex C and A. physeteris, as well as the high values of genetic distance (average D-Nei = 1.65 from the members of the A. simplex complex, and D-Nei = 3.09 from A. physeteris) showed that the new species is reproductively isolated. This new Anisakis species is morphologically different from the other Anisakis retained by Davey (1971) as either good species or species inquirendae. The name Anisakis ziphidarum n. sp. is proposed for the new species.