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A new species of Serpentirhabdias Tkach, Kuzmin et Snyder, 2014 (Nematoda: Rhabdiasidae) parasitic in the herald snake, Crotaphopeltis hotamboeia (Laurenti) (Reptilia: Serpentes: Colubridae) in South Africa

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Abstract

Serpentirhabdias mamlambo n. sp. is described from the lung of the herald snake, Crotaphopeltis hotamboeia (Laurenti) in KwaZulu-Natal Province, South Africa. The new species is characterised by the small lips, the absence of the buccal capsule, the large excretory glands (1.5–2.3 times longer than the oesophagus), and the numerous eggs in uteri. Serpentirhabdias mamlambo n. sp. differs from other Serpentirhabdias spp. in the presence of M-shaped cuticular folds on dorsal and ventral sides of apical surface, the eye-shaped internal labial papillae, and the distinct dilatation of the oesophagus at its mid-length. Morphological differentiation of S. mamlambo n. sp. from its congeners is supported by molecular evidence based on cox1 mitochondrial gene, and ITS and partial 28S region of nuclear rDNA. Serpentirhabdias mamlambo n. sp. is the first species of the genus Serpentirhabdias described from the Afrotropical Realm.

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Acknowledgements

Authors wish to express their sincere thanks to Dr Anatoly Levanets, Dr Edward Netherlands, and Mr Willie Landman for their help in the collection of live snakes, to Dr Leigh Richards, Dr Ashley Dokins, Dr Cormac Price, Mr Ryan van Huyssteen, and Ms Kirsty Kyle for providing road-killed snakes, and to Ms Tracy-Lee Joubert and Ms Joretha du Buisson for their help in the processing of frozen snakes.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Schmalhausen Institute of Zoology, 15 Bohdana Khmelnytskoho Street, Kyiv, 01030, Ukraine

    Yuriy Kuzmin & Roman Svitin

  2. African Amphibian Conservation Research Group, Unit for Environmental Sciences and Management, North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, Private Bag X6001, Potchefstroom, 20520, South Africa

    Yuriy Kuzmin, Louis du Preez & Roman Svitin

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

    Louis du Preez & Roman Svitin

Authors
  1. Yuriy Kuzmin
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  2. Louis du Preez
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  3. Roman Svitin
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Correspondence to Yuriy Kuzmin.

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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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Kuzmin, Y., du Preez, L. & Svitin, R. A new species of Serpentirhabdias Tkach, Kuzmin et Snyder, 2014 (Nematoda: Rhabdiasidae) parasitic in the herald snake, Crotaphopeltis hotamboeia (Laurenti) (Reptilia: Serpentes: Colubridae) in South Africa. Syst Parasitol 98, 477–485 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11230-021-09990-4

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