Two new species of Polynemicola Unnithan, 1971 (Monogenoidea: Microcotylidae) in Threadfin fishes (Perciformes: Polynemidae) from Visakhapatnam coast, Bay of Bengal, India.

Two new species of Polynemicola Unnithan, 1971 collected from gills of marine threadfin fishes Polydactylus sextarius and Polydactylus plebeius (Polynemidae) from Visakhapatnam coast, India are described. The genus Polynemicola is unique in possessing eversible spiny cirrus. The new species Polynemicola sextariusii was found to possess unique morpho-anatomical characters like median row of spines on the cirrus, 12 vaginal hooks, 5-7 testes in a single row. Another new species Polynemicola glandularis differs from existing species of Polynemicola in having prostatic gland cells conspicuously on either side of seminal vesicle, septate oral suckers and 20 vaginal hooks. © Indian Society for Parasitology 2020.