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Morphological and molecular data reveal a new species of Lueheia (Acanthocephala: Plagiorhynchidae) from Turdus migratorius (Turdidae) in central Mexico and its phylogenetic implications within the family

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Abstract

Members of the genus Lueheia Travassos, 1919, are endoparasites of birds, particularly passerines, throughout the Americas. Adults of Lueheia sp., (Plagiorhynchidae Golvan, 1960; Porrorchinae Golvan, 1956) were recovered from the intestine of the American robin (Turdus migratorius phillipsi Bangs) in Mexico City, and two other species of acanthocephalans identified as Porrorchis nickoli, (Plagiorhynchidae: Porrorchinae) Salgado-Maldonado and Cruz-Reyes, 2002 and Centrorhynchus microcephalus (Bravo-Hollis, 1947) Golvan, 1956 (Centrorhynchidae Van Cleave, 1916), were recovered from the Virginia opossum (Didelphis virginiana Allen) and groove-billed ani (Crotophaga sulcirostris Swainson), respectively in southeastern Mexico. Specimens of three species were sequenced at two molecular markers, the small subunit (SSU) and large subunit (LSU) of the nuclear rDNA and compared with other sequences available in GenBank. Maximum likelihood and Bayesian inference analyses of the combined (LSU + SSU) dataset and each individual dataset revealed that the specimens of Lueheia sp. formed an independent lineage, which is recognized herein as a new species, Lueheia aztecae n. sp., representing the fifth species of the genus in the Americas, and the second in the Nearctic region. The new species can be morphologically distinguished from the other five species in the genus by having a cylindrical proboscis, armed with 24–26 longitudinal rows with 9–10 hooks each. Phylogenetic inference performed with the combined dataset consisting of two genes (LSU + SSU) revealed that Lueheia aztecae n. sp. and P. nickoli belonging to subfamily Porrorchinae, formed two independent lineages, indicating that the subfamily is paraphyletic. Porrorchis nickoli and C. microcephalus formed a clade with other species of the genus Centrorhynchus, suggesting that P. nickoli should be transferred to genus Centrorhynchus, to form C. nickoli n. comb. In addition, we briefly discuss the ecological associations between the members of the families Plagiorhynchidae and Centrorhynchidae.

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Acknowledgments

We thank to Luis García-Prieto for providing specimens deposited at the CNHE. Laura Márquez and Nelly López Ortiz for their help with the automatic sequencer. The American robin specimen was collected by Martin Figueroa B. and Paola Chavez; other specimens were collected under the Cartilla Nacional de Colector Científico (FAUT 0202) issued by the Secretaría del Medio Ambiente y Recursos Naturales (SEMARNAT) to MGV. This research was partially supported by grants from the Programa de Apoyo a Proyectos de Investigación e Innovación Tecnológica (PAPIIT-UNAM) IN207219 and IN220113 to MGV and RML respectively. LAG thanks the support of the Programa de Posgrado en Ciencias Biológicas, UNAM, and CONACYT for granting a scholarship to complete his PhD program.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Departamento de Zoología, Instituto de Biología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM), Avenida Universidad 3000, Ciudad Universitaria, 04510, México City, México

    Martín García-Varela, Leopoldo Andrade-Gómez, Berenit Mendoza-Garfias & Alejandro Oceguera-Figueroa

  2. Posgrado en Ciencias Biológicas, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Avenida Universidad 3000, Ciudad Universitaria, 04510, México City, Mexico

    Leopoldo Andrade-Gómez

  3. Departamento de Biología Evolutiva, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Avenida Universidad 3000, Ciudad Universitaria, 04510, México City, Mexico

    Jorge López-Caballero & Rosario Mata-López

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  1. Martín García-Varela
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  2. Leopoldo Andrade-Gómez
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  3. Jorge López-Caballero
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  6. Rosario Mata-López
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Correspondence to Martín García-Varela.

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García-Varela, M., Andrade-Gómez, L., López-Caballero, J. et al. Morphological and molecular data reveal a new species of Lueheia (Acanthocephala: Plagiorhynchidae) from Turdus migratorius (Turdidae) in central Mexico and its phylogenetic implications within the family. Parasitol Res 119, 3221–3231 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00436-020-06748-7

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