Gyrodactylus pictae n. sp. (Monogenea: Gyrodactylidae) from the Trinidadian swamp guppy Poecilia picta Regan, with a discussion on species of Gyrodactylus von Nordmann, 1832 and their poeciliid hosts.

Gyrodactylus pictae n. sp. is recorded from Poecilia picta in heterospecific shoals with the guppy P. reticulata in Northern Trinidad. G. pictae is morphologically similar to G. turnbulli Harris, 1986, but the hamuli and marginal hooks are slightly smaller and more gracile. The toe and the point of the marginal hook have a distinctly different shape, providing the best morphological characters for distinguishing the two species. The rDNA ITS1 and ITS2 sequences differ from those of G. turnbulli (the closest relative) by >5, suggesting that these two taxa are not sibling species. The origin of the two species on poeciliids of the subgenus Micropoecilia is discussed, and it is suggested that this may represent a case of host-parasite co-evolution.