Tracking platyhelminth parasite diversity from freshwater turtles in French Guiana: First report of Neopolystoma Price, 1939 (Monogenea: Polystomatidae) with the description of three new species. Issue 1 (December 2017)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Du Preez, Louis; Badets, Mathieu; Héritier, Laurent; Verneau, Olivier
• Is Part Of: Parasites & vectors. Volume 10:Issue 1(2017)
• Page Start: 1
• Page End: 11
• Publication Date: 2017-12
• Subjects: French Guiana -- Freshwater turtle -- Kinosternon scorpioides -- Mesoclemmys gibba -- Rhinoclemmys punctularia -- Polystomatidae -- Neopolystoma; Parasitism -- Periodicals; Parasites -- Periodicals; Vector-pathogen relationships -- Periodicals; Animals as carriers of disease -- Periodicals; Insects as carriers of disease -- Periodicals; 616.96
• DOI: 10.1186/s13071-017-1986-y
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1756-3305

Abstract

Abstract Background Polystomatid flatworms in chelonians are divided into three genera, i.e.Polystomoides Ward, 1917, Polystomoidella Price, 1939 andNeopolystoma Price, 1939, according to the number of haptoral hooks. Among the about 55 polystome species that are known to date from the 327 modern living chelonians, only four species ofPolystomoides are currently recognised within the 45 South American freshwater turtles. Methods During 2012, several sites in the vicinity of the cities Cayenne and Kaw in French Guiana were investigated for freshwater turtles. Turtles were collected at six sites and the presence of polystomatid flatworms was assessed from the presence of polystome eggs released by infected specimens. Results Among the three turtle species that were collected, no polystomes were found in the gibba turtleMesoclemmys gibba (Schweigger, 1812). The spot-legged turtleRhinoclemmys punctularia (Daudin, 1801) was infected with two species ofNeopolystoma Price, 1939, one in the conjunctival sacs and the other in the urinary bladder, while the scorpion mud turtleKinosternon scorpioides (Linnaeus, 1766) was found to be infected with a singleNeopolystoma species in the conjunctival sacs. These parasites could be distinguished from known species ofNeopolystoma by a combination of morphological characteristics including body size, number and length of genital spines, shape and size of the testis. They were also differentiated at the molecular level using thecox 1 gene marker. Based on morphological and genetic evidences, three new species are described herein, namelyNeopolystoma cayensis n. sp. andNeopolystoma guianensis n. sp. from the bladder and the conjunctival sacs ofR. punctularia, respectively, andNeopolystoma scorpioides n. sp. from the conjunctival sacs ofK. scorpioides . However the monophyly ofPolystomoides andNeopolystoma is still questioned regarding their phylogeny based on a dataset comprising four concatenated genes, namely, 18S, 28S and 12S rRNA genes andcox 1. Conclusions In addition to these being the first chelonian polystomes to be reported and described from French Guiana, they represent the first polystomes from the hostsK. scorpioides andR. punctularia and the first representatives ofNeopolystoma from South America. Chelonian polystomes now require an in-depth morphological study to reconcile the taxonomy of the genera with species evolution.