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Two new species of threadlike blood flukes (Aporocotylidae), with a molecular revision of the genera Ankistromeces Nolan & Cribb, 2004 and Phthinomita Nolan & Cribb, 2006

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Abstract

Ankistromeces Nolan & Cribb, 2004 and Phthinomita Nolan & Cribb, 2006 are sister genera of threadlike blood flukes (Trematoda: Aporocotylidae) infecting teleost fishes of the tropical Indo-west Pacific. Here, we report new collections of these genera from Australia, Indonesia, and Japan. A new species of Ankistromeces, Ankistromeces kawamurai n. sp., is described from Siganus spinus (Linnaeus) off Okinawa, Japan, and a new species of Phthinomita, Phthinomita abdita n. sp., from Choerodon cephalotes (Castelnau), in Moreton Bay, Australia; the new species are morphologically cryptic within their respective genera and are delineated by molecular and ecological data. Ankistromeces olsoni Nolan & Cribb, 2006 is reported from Siganus fuscescens (Houttuyn) off Heron Island (southern Great Barrier Reef), Lizard Island (northern Great Barrier Reef), and Okinawa and Wakayama Prefectures, Japan and from Siganus spinus (Linnaeus) from off Bali, Indonesia. Ankistromeces mariae Nolan & Cribb, 2004 is re-reported from the type-host, Meuschenia freycineti (Quoy & Gaimard), from a new location, Gypsy Bay, Tasmania. Phthinomita poulini Nolan & Cribb, 2006 is re-reported from its type-locality, Lizard Island, from a range of mullids, including five new host species, and its range is extended to include Moreton Bay. Phthinomita symplocos Nolan & Cribb, 2006 is reported from Bali and P. hallae Nolan & Cribb, 2006, P. jonesi Nolan & Cribb, 2006, P. littlewoodi Nolan & Cribb, 2006, and P. munozae Nolan & Cribb, 2006 are each re-reported from their type-host and type-localities. New cox1 mtDNA data were generated for all known species of these two genera from new and archival material. Analyses of these data enabled an evaluation of all known Phthinomita species; P. robertsthomsoni Nolan & Cribb, 2006 is synonymised with P. adlardi Nolan & Cribb, 2006, and P. brooksi Nolan & Cribb, 2006 is synonymised with P. sasali Nolan & Cribb, 2006. We highlight the failure of ITS2 data to delineate closely related aporocotylid species. In contrast, cox1 sequence data are proving reliable and effective in this context and we recommend their incorporation in future studies of blood fluke taxonomy.

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Data availability

The data that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.

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Acknowledgements

For assistance with host collections in Australia we thank John Page, Dave Thompson, Dr Daniel Huston and the various members of the Marine Parasitology Laboratory; in Indonesia we thank Dr Harry Palm, Dr Rod Bray and Stefan Theisen; and in Japan we thank Takuya Katsuki, Riko Kokaji, Tomoya Matsuda of Kindai University and Dr Shiori Kunihiro, Dr Piera Biondi, Dr Hin Boo Wee, Iori Kawamura and Masaru Mizuyama of the University of the Ryukyus. We also thank the staff of Moreton Bay, Heron Island and Lizard Island Research Stations for their support in the field.

Funding

We acknowledge the Australian Biological Resources Study (ABRS) for their ongoing support. This study was funded by the ABRS National Taxonomy Research Grant RG19-37, awarded to SCC and THC. Collecting in Japan was supported by an Australian Society for Parasitology (ASP) Network Researcher Exchange, Training and Travel Award grant to SCC. Collecting in Indonesia was conducted during the First Educational Workshop on Fish Parasites in Indonesia, July 21st - August 2nd 2013, supported by the German Federal Ministry for Education and Science (BMBF Grant No. 03F0641D) within the framework of the joint Indonesian-German research programme SPICE III - MABICO (Science for the Protection of Indonesian Coastal Marine Ecosystems).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Biological Sciences, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD, 4072, Australia

    S. C. Cutmore, R. Q.-Y. Yong & T. H. Cribb

  2. Molecular Invertebrate Systematics and Ecology, Faculty of Science, University of the Ryukyus, 1 Senbaru, Nishihara, Okinawa, 903-0213, Japan

    J. D. Reimer

  3. Tropical Biosphere Research Center, University of the Ryukyus, 1 Senbaru, Nishihara, Okinawa, 903-0213, Japan

    J. D. Reimer

  4. Aquaculture Research Institute, Kindai University, Shirahama 3153, Wakayama, 649-2211, Japan

    S. Shirakashi

  5. University Biomedical Services, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, CB3 0JX, UK

    M. J. Nolan

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  1. S. C. Cutmore
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Cutmore, S.C., Yong, R.QY., Reimer, J.D. et al. Two new species of threadlike blood flukes (Aporocotylidae), with a molecular revision of the genera Ankistromeces Nolan & Cribb, 2004 and Phthinomita Nolan & Cribb, 2006. Syst Parasitol 98, 641–664 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11230-021-10002-8

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