Description of new species of Trematoda from bats of Southeastern Mexico and a new classification for Brachylecithum rileyi n. comb. (Dicrocoeliidae)

A new genus and species of Microphalloidea (Digenea), parasite of Peropteryx spp. (Chiroptera: Emballonuridae) from the Neotropical region of Mexico revealed by morphological and phylogenetic analyses

The present study aims to describe a new genus and species of microphalloid digenean parasite of two species of bats of the genus Peropteryx from the Mexican Neotropics (in the states of Chiapas and Yucatán). Morphological and molecular data (28s rDNA ribosomal gene sequences) were used to study Digeneans. Sagittatrema zutzi gen. nov. sp., nov., is diagnosed morphologically by having a sagittiform body, a genital pore in the midline of the body, posterior to the ventral sucker, and a cirrus sac running through much of the diameter of the ventral sucker. The nine sequences generated from the 28S rDNA gene were used to examine the phylogenetic affinities of this new taxon within the superfamily Microphalloidea Ward, 1901, using Maximum Likelihood and Bayesian Inference analyses. Both analyses resulted in trees with similar topologies and formed a well-supported clade (Bt = 100; pp = 1) with the Sagittatrema sequences. Because of the new genus's phylogenetic position and that some sister families to the proposed taxa, like Pleurogenidae and Prosthogonimidae, are polyphyletic, we prefer to consider Sagittatrema as a genus incertae sedis within Microphalloidea. A full systematic review of microphalloids is needed to confirm their phylogenetic position.

Uncovering further diversity of Ochoterenatrema Caballero, 1943 (Digenea: Lecithodendriidae) in South American bats

Ochoterenatrema Caballero, 1943 is a genus of lecithodendriid digeneans that prior to this study included 8 species parasitic in bats in the Western Hemisphere. Species of Ochoterenatrema possess a unique morphological feature in form of the pseudogonotyl on the sinistral side of the ventral sucker. In this study, we describe 2 new species of Ochoterenatrema from bats in Ecuador. The new species are readily differentiated from their congeners by a combination of morphological characters, including the distribution of vitelline follicles, length of oesophagus, sucker ratio and the body shape, among other features. We have generated partial nuclear 28S rDNA and mitochondrial cox1 gene DNA sequences from both new species. The newly obtained sequences were used to differentiate among species and study the phylogenetic interrelationships among Ochoterenatrema spp. The internal topology of the clade was weakly supported, although the cox1 tree was much better resolved than the 28S tree. Comparison of sequences revealed 0-1.2% interspecific divergence in 28S and 3.3-20.5% interspecific divergence in cox1 among Ochoterenatrema spp. The new findings demonstrate that bats in South America likely harbor multiple additional undescribed species of Ochoterenatrema. More extensive sampling from broader geographic and host ranges, especially in North America, should allow for a better understanding of the evolution of host associations and morphological traits of this lineage of lecithodendriid digeneans.

A description of a new species of the genus Brachydistomum (Trematode, Dicrocoeliidae) from the Eurasian Tree Sparrow Passer montanus (Linnaeus) (Passeriformes) in Japan, with a report on the first intermediate host

The trematode Brachydistomum suzume n. sp. (Dicrocoeliidae) was detected in the Eurasian Tree Sparrow Passer montanus, and described as a new species in Japan. This new species can be distinguished from the other members of the genus on the basis of morphological characters of suckers and reproductive organs. A partial sequence of adult mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit 1 (COI) was used as a DNA barcode, and dicrocoeliid sporocysts and cercariae detected from four camaenid land snail species, Bradybaena pellucida, Brad. similaris, Acusta sieboldiana and Euhadra brandtii, were molecularly identified as the new species. Phylogenetic trees of nuclear 28S ribosomal DNA and COI also showed the new species to be distinct from the other trematode species, including Brachydistomum spp.