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Phylogenetic position of Sphincterodiplostomum Dubois, 1936 (Digenea: Diplostomoidea) with description of a second species from Pantanal, Brazil

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  11 February 2021

T.J. Achatz
Affiliation:
Department of Biology, University of North Dakota, Starcher Hall, 10 Cornell Street Stop 9019, Grand Forks, ND 58202, USA
J.A. Bell
Affiliation:
Department of Biology, University of North Dakota, Starcher Hall, 10 Cornell Street Stop 9019, Grand Forks, ND 58202, USA
F.T.V. Melo
Affiliation:
Laboratory of Cell Biology and Helminthology ‘Prof. Dr Reinalda Marisa Lanfredi’, Institute of Biological Sciences, Federal University of Pará, Belém, PA, Brazil
A. Fecchio
Affiliation:
Programa de Pós-Graduação em Ecologia e Conservação da Biodiversidade, Universidade Federal de Mato Grosso, Cuiabá, MT, Brazil
V.V. Tkach*
Affiliation:
Department of Biology, University of North Dakota, Starcher Hall, 10 Cornell Street Stop 9019, Grand Forks, ND 58202, USA
*
Author for correspondence: V.V. Tkach, E-mail: vasyl.tkach@und.edu
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Abstract

Sphincterodiplostomum is a monotypic genus of diplostomid digeneans that parasitize fish-eating birds in the neotropics. The type species Sphincterodiplostomum musculosum has a unique, dorsal, tubular invagination in the opisthosoma with a muscular sphincter. Whereas larvae of S. musculosum are relatively commonly reported in Neotropical fish helminth surveys, adult specimens from birds are rarely collected. Prior to our study, no DNA sequence data for S. musculosum were available. Our molecular and morphological study of mature and immature adult Sphincterodiplostomum specimens from three species of birds and one species of crocodilian revealed the presence of at least two species of Sphincterodiplostomum in the neotropics. We provide the first molecular phylogeny of the Diplostomoidea that includes Sphincterodiplostomum. In addition, this is the first record of S. musculosum from caimans, along with the first record of fully mature adult S. musculosum from green kingfisher Chloroceryle americana. The new species of Sphincterodiplostomum (Sphincterodiplostomum joaopinhoi n. sp.) can be morphologically distinguished from S. musculosum based on the anterior extent of vitelline follicles, narrower prosoma, substantially smaller holdfast organ and structure of tegumental spines. Our data revealed 0.7% interspecific divergence in 28S and 10.6–11.7% divergence in cox1 sequences between the two Sphincterodiplostomum species.

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Type
Research Paper
Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s), 2021. Published by Cambridge University Press
Figure 0

Table 1. List of Sphincterodiplostomum isolates sequenced in this study, their hosts and GenBank accession numbers.

Figure 1

Fig. 1. Line drawings of Sphincterodiplostomum joaopinhoi n. sp.: (a) holotype, ventral view; (b) male reproductive system of holotype, ventral view of opisthosoma; (c) female reproductive system of holotype, ventral view of opisthosoma, vitellarium and eggs omitted; (d) paratype, immature specimen, dorsal view. Abbreviation: S, dorsal muscular sphincter associated with the tubular invagination of the opisthosoma.

Figure 2

Fig. 2. Specimens of Sphincterodiplostomum species/species-level lineages from Pantanal, Brazil: (a) holotype of mature adult Sphincterodiplostomum joaopinhoi n. sp., ventral view; (b, c) paratypes of immature S. joaopinhoi n. sp. at different stages of development, ventral views; (d, e) opisthosoma of S. joaopinhoi n. sp., dorsal views; (f) mature adult Sphincterodiplostomum musculosum from Chloroceryle americana, ventral view, hologenophore; (g) immature S. musculosum from Ardea cocoi, dorsal view; (h) immature S. musculosum from Caiman yacare, dorsal view. Abbreviation: S, sphincter surrounding tubular invagination characteristic of Sphincterodiplostomum species.

Figure 3

Fig. 3. Scanning electron micrographs of Sphincterodiplostomum spp.: (a) entire specimen of Sphincterodiplostomum joaopinhoi n. sp., ventral view; (b) ventral sucker and holdfast organ of S. joaopinhoi n. sp., ventral view; inset shows minute spines at the base of the ventral sucker; (c) anterior end of prosoma of S. joaopinhoi n. sp., ventral view; (d) tegumental spines with digitiform projections of S. joaopinhoi n. sp.; (e) posterior end of opisthosoma of S. joaopinhoi n. sp., dorsal view, note the sphincter surrounding tubular invagination characteristic of Sphincterodiplostomum species; (f, g) tegumental spines of Sphincterodiplostomum musculosum; (h) posterior end of opisthosoma of S. musculosum, dorsal view. Abbreviations: GP, genital pore; HF, holdfast organ; OS, oral sucker; PS, pseudosucker; S, sphincter surrounding tubular invagination; VS, ventral sucker.

Figure 4

Fig. 4. Phylogenetic interrelationships among 33 diplostomoidean taxa including Sphincterodiplostomum spp. based on Bayesian Inference (BI) analysis of partial 28S rRNA gene sequences. Members of the sub-family Diplostominae as currently recognized are indicated by the shaded rectangles. BI posterior probability values lower than 80% are not shown. The new sequences obtained in this study are in bold. Scale bar indicates number of substitutions per site. GenBank accession numbers are provided after the names of all species.