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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

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Abstract

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.

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Availability of data and material

The sequence datasets analyzed during the current study are available in the Genbank repository, LC682605–LC682612. The other datasets analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

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Acknowledgements

The authors are grateful to Hiromi Ikezawa, Shoichi Inose, Kenji Mimoto, Minoru Nakao, Ryo Nakao, Yuma Ohari, Jiljí Sitko, Tsuyoshi Takano, Miiko Takayama and Hirotsugu Yamazaki for helping our research. Also, the authors are grateful to two anonymous reviewers for their comments to this manuscript.

Funding

This study was partially supported by the Research Institute of Marine Invertebrates, and a Nakatsuji Foresight Foundation Research Grant. Japan.

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  1. Faculty of Science, Toho University, Miyama 2-2-1, Funabashi, Chiba, 274-8510, Japan

    Haruki Furusawa & Tsukasa Waki

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  1. Haruki Furusawa
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  2. Tsukasa Waki
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HF and TW wrote the main manuscript text. HF and TW sampled host snails and identified the worms. HF prepared figures, tables and online resources.

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Correspondence to Tsukasa Waki.

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Furusawa, H., Waki, T. 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. Syst Parasitol 101, 22 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11230-024-10148-1

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