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Description and molecular characterisation of a new nematode species parasitic in the lungs of Strongylopus grayii (Smith) (Anura: Pyxicephalidae) in South Africa

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Abstract

Rhabdias delangei n. sp. (Nematoda: Rhabdiasidae) is described from the lungs of the clicking stream frog Strongylopus grayii (Smith) in the Western Cape Province of South Africa. The new species is characterised by the nerve-ring being located just posterior to the mid-length of the oesophagus, a pre-equatorial vulva, as well as a thin-walled and apparently underdeveloped rectum. Pairwise analyses based on ITS-28S and partial cox1 gene fragments showed significant differences between R. delangei n. sp. and its congeners from the Afrotropical Realm. Rhabdias delangei n. sp. is the 12th species of Rhabdias Stiles & Hassall, 1905 recorded in Afrotropical amphibians and the second species of the genus found in pyxicephalid hosts. Our phylogenetic analysis based on the ITS-28S region showed that the new species is closely related to the European species R. rubrovenosa (Schneider, 1866). Furthermore, both species are similar with respect to the underdeveloped rectum and pre-equatorial position of vulva.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. I. I. Schmalhausen Institute of Zoology, 15 Bogdan Khmelnytskyi Street, Kyiv, 01030, Ukraine

    Yuriy Kuzmin & Roman Svitin

  2. African Amphibian Conservation Research Group, Unit for Environmental Sciences and Management, North-West University, Potchefstroom, South Africa

    Yuriy Kuzmin, Roman Svitin, Florence Harnoster & Louis du Preez

  3. South African Institute for Aquatic Biodiversity, Grahamstown, 6140, South Africa

    Roman Svitin & Louis du Preez

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  1. Yuriy Kuzmin
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  2. Roman Svitin
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  3. Florence Harnoster
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  4. Louis du Preez
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Correspondence to Roman Svitin.

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All applicable institutional, national and international guidelines for the care and use of animals were followed. North-West University ethics approval no NWU-00380-16-A5.

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This article was registered in the Official Register of Zoological Nomenclature (ZooBank) as urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:1D4ECC30-B22D-46C4-BFE5-1A8155A7B9D7. This article was published as an Online First article on the online publication date shown on this page. The article should be cited by using the doi number. This is the Version of Record.

This article is part of the Topical Collection Nematoda.

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Kuzmin, Y., Svitin, R., Harnoster, F. et al. Description and molecular characterisation of a new nematode species parasitic in the lungs of Strongylopus grayii (Smith) (Anura: Pyxicephalidae) in South Africa. Syst Parasitol 97, 369–378 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11230-020-09917-5

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