David Iván Hernández-Mena

Morphological and molecular differentiation of Parastrigea (Trematoda: Strigeidae) from Mexico, with the description of a new species

Parastrigea plataleae n. sp. (Digenea: Strigeidae) is described from the intestine of the roseate spoonbill Platalea ajaja (Threskiornithidae) from four localities on the Pacific coast of Mexico. The new species is mainly distinguished from the other 18 described species of Parastrigea based on the ratio of its hindbody length to forebody length. A principal component analysis (PCA) of 16 morphometric traits for 15 specimens of P. plataleae n. sp., five of Parastrigea cincta and 11 of Parastrigea diovadena previously recorded in Mexico, clearly shows three clusters, which correspond to the three species. DNA sequences of the internal transcribed spacers (ITSs) of ribosomal DNA and the mitochondrial gene cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (cox 1) were used to corroborate this morphological distinction. The genetic divergence estimated among P. plataleae n. sp., P. cincta and P. diovadena ranged from 0.5 to 1.48% for ITSs and from 9.31 to 11.47% for cox 1. Maximum parsimony (MP) and maximum likelihood (ML) analyses were performed on the combined datasets (ITSs+cox 1) and on each dataset alone. All of the phylogenetic analyses indicated that the specimens from the roseate spoonbill represent a clade with strong bootstrap support. The morphological evidence and the genetic divergence in combination with the reciprocal monophyly in all of the phylogenetic trees support the hypothesis that the digeneans found in the intestines of roseate spoonbills represent a new species.

Parasciadicleithrum octofasciatum n. gen., n. sp. (Monogenoidea: Dactylogyridae), parasite of Rocio octofasciata (Regan) (Cichlidae: Perciformes) from Mexico characterised by morphological and molecular evidence

Based on an integrative taxonomic approach, combining morphological characters and partial sequences of the 28S rRNA gene, a new genus and species, Parasciadicleithrum octofasciatum, is proposed to accommodate dactylogyrids infecting the gills of Rocio octofasciata (Cichlidae) from a tributary of the Lacantún River basin, Chiapas State, southern Mexico. Morphologically, the new genus resembles members of Sciadicleithrum (Dactylogyridae) in the presence of membranes on the anterior margins of both ventral and dorsal haptoral bars. However, Parasciadicleithrum octofasciatum n. sp. shows morphological differences with respect to a subset of species of Sciadicleithrum occurring in the same host group and geographic area, such as the body size and gonad dimensions (length and width of germarium and testis, respectively, smaller in the new genus). Phylogenetic analyses performed herein based on Maximum Likelihood and Bayesian Inference criteria, showed that Parasciadicleithrum octofasciatum n. sp. represents an undescribed taxon morphologically very similar to species of Sciadicleithrum from which it can be consistently distinguished on the basis of molecular data. P. octofasciatum n. sp. appeared genetically distant from Sciadicleithrum spp. and nested with dactylogyrid parasites of African cichlids. Parasciadicleithrum n. gen. showed divergence levels in the 28S rDNA sequences of 25-26% with respect to Sciadicleithrum spp. Therefore, on the basis of molecular evidence mainly, and morphological differences highlighted above, the erection of the new genus is proposed. The evolutionary and ecological factors that may have influenced the associations between Neotropical cichlids and their dactylogyrid parasites are briefly discussed.

Phylogenetic position of Magnivitellinum Kloss, 1966 and Perezitrema Baruš & Moravec, 1967 (Trematoda: Plagiorchioidea: Macroderoididae) inferred from partial 28S rDNA sequences, with the establishment of Alloglossidiidae n. fam.

Abstract The systematic position of two genera of Macroderoididae McMullen, 1937, Perezitrema Baruš & Moravec, 1967 and Magnivitellinum Kloss, 1966 is reviewed based on a phylogenetic analysis of the interrelationships of 15 species of the family allocated into six genera, along with 44 species of plagiorchioid trematodes, using partial sequences of the 28S rRNA gene. Sequences were analysed through parsimony, maximum likelihood and Bayesian inference. The obtained topologies show Perezitrema as the sister taxon of three species of Macroderoides Pearse, 1924; the latter genus appears to be paraphyletic since another three species are not included in this group. Instead, Magnivitellinum was placed as the sister taxon of Alloglossidium Simer, 1929. These relationships are well supported by high bootstrap and posterior probability values. The resulting trees demonstrate that the family Macroderoididae, as currently conceived in taxonomic treatments, is not monophyletic. Magnivitellinumsimplex Kloss, 1966 and Alloglossidium spp. were nested as sister taxa of members of the family Leptophallidae Dayal, 1938, whereas Perezitrema bychowskii Baruš & Moravec, 1967 and species of Macroderoides and Paramacroderoides Venard, 1941 were grouped with Auridistomumchelydrae (Stafford, 1900), a monotypic member of Auridistomidae Stunkard, 1924. Based on our results, a new family, Alloglossidiidae n. fam. was established to accommodate the genera Magnivitellinum and Alloglossidium.

A new species of Auriculostoma (Trematoda: Allocreadiidae) from the intestine of Brycon guatemalensis (Characiformes: Bryconidae) from the Usumacinta River Basin, Mexico, based on morphology and 28S rDNA sequences, with a key to species of the genus

We describe a new species of Auriculostoma Scholz, Aguirre-Macedo & Choudhury, 2004 based on several sources of information including morphology (light and scanning electron microscopy [SEM]), sequences of two nuclear genes, host association, and geographical distribution. Morphologically, the new species most closely resembles Auriculostoma astyanace Scholz, Aguirre-Macedo & Choudhury, 2004, but differs by having deeply lobated testes and cirrus-sac extending posteriorly to seminal receptacle level. Auriculostoma lobata n. sp. can be readily distinguished from all the other congeners by the combination of the following characters: testes located in tandem, testes deeply lobated, and larger body size. A phylogenetic analysis using 28S rDNA sequences along with those available for other allocreadiid trematodes, revealed that the new species is a sister taxon of A. astyanace, a species described from the banded astyanax, Astyanax fasciatus (Cuvier) in Nicaragua. Auriculostoma totonacapanensis Razo-Mendivil, Mendoza-Garfias, Pérez-Ponce de León & Rubio-Godoy, 2014 from the Mexican tetra, Astyanax mexicanus (De Filippi) in Mexico is the sister taxon of A. astyanace plus the new species. Genetic divergence levels for the 28S rDNA and ITS2 were estimated among the Middle-American species of Auriculostoma infecting characiforms. The validity of the new species is then established by reliable morphological differences, its host association to bryconids (Brycon guatemalensis Regan), restricted geographical distribution (Usumacinta and Lacantun River basins), and genetic divergence levels, albeit relatively low. A morphometric comparison between the new species and the other seven congeneric species was undertaken and, in addition, a taxonomic key to identify the species contained in the genus Auriculostoma, widely distributed across the Americas, is provided.

Phylogenetic position of Pseudosellacotyla lutzi (Freitas, 1941) (Digenea: Cryptogonimidae), a parasite of Hoplias malabaricus (Bloch) in South America, through 28S rDNA sequences, and new observations of the ultrastructure of their tegument

Abstract The freshwater fish digenean Pseudosellacotyla lutzi (Freitas, 1941) Yamaguti, 1954 has had an unsettled taxonomic history, and has at various times been classified as a member of Nanophyetidae, Heterophyidae, Microphallidae, Faustulidae, and Cryptogonimidae. Nine individual specimens of the trahira, Hoplias malabaricus (Bloch, 1794), were sampled in the Paraná River basin, Paraná State, Brazil; 22 specimens of P. lutzi were collected. One specimen of P. lutzi was used to obtain a sequence of the domains D1–D3 of the 28S rRNA gene, and to perform a phylogenetic analysis to assess their position and classification within Plagiorchiida. The resulting tree unequivocally shows that the species, along with acanthostomines, belong to the Cryptogonimidae, corroborating recent findings based on the morphology of the cercariae, and in the characteristics of the life cycle. In addition, the study of the ultrastructure of the tegumental spines through scanning electron microscopy allowed us to characterize them as pectinate spines possessing 3 to 8 digitiform projections at their distal end and extending from the anterior to the posterior extremity of the body. This study also provides the first molecular data for a cryptogonimid from South America.

Morphological and molecular characterisation of Aporocotyle margolisi Smith, 1967 (Digenea: Aporocotylidae) from the North Pacific hake Merluccius productus (Ayres) (Gadiformes: Merlucciidae) off Oregon, USA

Abstract Aporocotylid blood flukes conspecific with Aporocotyle margolisi Smith, 1967 were collected from the bulbus arteriosus of the North Pacific hake Merluccius productus (Ayres). This study revisits the morphology of A. margolisi, including drawings, measurements and scanning electron microscopy images, and provides for the first time molecular data for the large subunit of the ribosomal RNA (28S rDNA) and the mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit 1 (cox1) genes for this species. A 28S rDNA phylogenetic study of A. margolisi, and all available Aporocotyle spp., was also performed. The distribution range of A. margolisi is extended to the Pacific coast of the USA. We provide a morphological comparison of Aporocotyle spp. from the Pacific coast in North America as well as other Aporocotyle spp. infecting hake. Comparisons with the original description revealed that the new specimens of A. margolisi were considerably larger with respect to all morphological features, except for shorter spines. Molecular results showed a close relationship between A. margolisi and A. argentinensis Smith, 1969 from the Argentine hake Merluccius hubbsi Marini. The phylogenetic relationships of Aporocotyle spp. point to a possible co-speciation of hakes species and these blood fluke parasites.