Parasite evolutionary events inferred from host phylogeny: the case of Labeo species (Teleostei, Cyprinidae) and their dactylogyrid parasites (Monogenea, Dactylogyridae)

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Abstract
Independent phylogenies of West African Labeo (Teleostei, Cyprinidae) and their gill parasites of the genus Dactylogyrus (Monogenea, Dactylogyridae) are proposed. The phylogeny of Labeo is based on allele characters, whereas the phylogeny of the parasites is based on morphometric features. The comparison of host and parasite phylogenies did not correlate completely with predictions made by using Fahrenholz's rule. Parasites encountered on L. coubie and L. senegalensis seem to have evolved in parallel with their host, or by sequential colonizations between these two related hosts. Whatever the host–parasite evolutionary events between L. coubie and L. senegalensis and their specific dactylogyrids, two hypotheses of host switching on L. parvus and L. roseopunctatus are probable, reflecting a close ecological relationship between the various host taxa. Dactylogyrus brevicirrus and D. nathaliae, found on the gills of L. parvus and L. roseopunctatus, respectively, are each the sister-species of a living parasite on L. coubie. The notions of parallel evolution (or coevolution in a broader sense) and host switching with speciation are discussed. Finally, Fahrenholz's rule is analyzed as a forecasting tool that can be used in systematics.

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