Empruthotrema longipenis n. sp. (Monogenoidea: Monocotylidae: Merizocotylinae) from the olfactory sacs of the smooth butterfly ray Gymnura micrura (Bloch & Schneider) (Myliobatiformes: Gymnuridae) in the Gulf of Mexico.

A new species of Empruthotrema Johnston & Tiegs, 1922 is described based on specimens collected from the olfactory sacs of smooth butterfly rays Gymnura micrura (Bloch & Schneider) captured in Mobile Bay (northcentral Gulf of Mexico), Alabama, USA. Empruthotrema longipenis n. sp. is most similar to the type-species Empruthotrema raiae (MacCallum, 1916) Johnston & Tiegs, 1922 by having 12 marginal and two interhamular loculi with members of haptoral hook pair 1 located midway along the periphery of each interhamular loculus and those of hook pair 2 located at the marginal termini of the bilateral septa flanking the interhamular loculi. Empruthotrema longipenis n. sp. differs from E. raiae by having a much longer male copulatory organ and from its remaining congeners by the sinistral and extracecal ejaculatory bulb flanking the pharynx, the number of interhamular and marginal septa, and the distribution of hook pairs 1 and 2 along the haptoral margin. This is the first report of a monocotylid from the smooth butterfly ray and from Mobile Bay. The diversity of haptoral morphotypes among the currently accepted species of Empruthotrema is detailed and discussed in the context of monophyly of the genus.