Axinoides euzeti n. sp. (Monogenea: Axinidae) from the gills of the needlefish Tylosurus acus imperialis (Rafinesque) (Belonidae) off Tunisia, with an updated list of hosts and localities for Axinoides spp.

A new axinid monogenean species, Axinoides euzeti n. sp. from the gills of the Mediterranean needlefish Tylosurus acus imperialis (Rafinesque) off the Tunisian coast is described. The new species is most similar in general morphology to A. meservei Price, 1946 from Tylosurus crocodilus fodiator Jordan & Gilbert off the Atlantic Ocean and to A. kola Unnithan, 1957 from Ablennes hians (Valenciennes) off the Indian Ocean. It can be differentiated from A. meservei by the shape of anterior male genital complex armed with several rows of curved spines on the cirrus rather than 3 to 4 rows of slender spines, in having a fewer testes (87-94 vs more than 100 in the drawing of A. meservei) and a body size twice longer than wide. It differs also from A. kola which have a single row of small spines in the cirrus, in having fewer and wider clamps and fewer and smaller testes. A. euzeti represents the first record of a representative of this genus in the Mediterranean Sea. In addition, taxonomic keys and an updated list of hosts and geographic localities for Axinoides species is presented.