Figures 25-30 - uploaded by Florian Reyda
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Acanthobothrium larsoni n. sp. 25. Scolex. 26. Hooks. 27. Subterminal mature proglottid. 28. Terminal proglottid. 29. Cross section through ovary. 30. Whole worm. (OV, ovary; T, testis; U, uterus; V, vitelline follicle.)

Acanthobothrium larsoni n. sp. 25. Scolex. 26. Hooks. 27. Subterminal mature proglottid. 28. Terminal proglottid. 29. Cross section through ovary. 30. Whole worm. (OV, ovary; T, testis; U, uterus; V, vitelline follicle.)

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As part of a survey of parasites of elasmobranchs of Malaysian Borneo, the cestode fauna of the dasyatid stingray Himantura uarnacoides was examined for the first time. Among other cestodes, this stingray was found to host 5 species of Acanthobothrium van Beneden, 1849 new to science. Based on the criteria of Ghoshroy and Caira (2001), these consis...

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... With this still being quite a substantial number of species, the South African congeners are very easily distinguished from all except two of these congeners by the presence of postovarian testes, undoubtably being a very interesting, yet highly unusual feature among species of Acanthobothrium (see Fyler et al. 2009, Fyler and Caira 2010, Maleki et al. 2015. In point of fact, this feature has been previously documented in merely 6% (12 out of 203) of all species of Acanthobothrium known to infect elasmobranchs (Subhapradha 1955, Robinson 1959, Campbell and Beveridge 2002, Fyler and Caira 2006, Reyda and Caira 2006, Twohig et al. 2008, Fyler and Caira 2010, Maleki et al. 2015. ...
... The descriptions of Acanthobothrium microhabentes, A. microtenuis, A crassus and A. dolichocollum increases the total number of species of Acanthobothrium known to possess postovarian testes to 16 species. Interestingly, with respect to the 12 previously reported species of Acantho bothrium known to bear this feature, all of these species were reported from hosts in waters of the Indo-Pacific Ocean , Fyler and Caira 2010, Maleki et al. 2015, consequently suggesting that this feature might be restricted to this particular geographical region (Fyler and Caira 2006, Reyda and Caira 2006, Twohig et al. 2008, Maleki et al. 2015. However, this could be argued, because species with this same feature off the south-western coast of South Africa clearly contradict the earlier conception. ...
... These congeners, including the South African species, all seem to parasitise host species from the families Dasyatidae and Rajidae. Seven species (Acanthobothrium cannoni Campbell et Beveridge, 2002, A. foulki Reyda et Caira, 2006, A. larsoni Reyda et Caira, 2006, A. marymichaelorum Twohig, Caira et Fyler, 2008, A. saliki Fyler et Caira, 2006, Acanthobothrium popi and A. zimmeri Fyler, Caira et Jensen, 2009) are reported from species of Himantura Müller et Henle (Campbell and Beveridge 2002, Fyler and Caira 2006, Reyda and Caira 2006, Twohig et al. 2008, six (A. blairi Campbell et Beveridge, 2002, A. microhabentes, A. microtenuis, A. crassus, A. dolichocollum andA. ...
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The examination of eight spotted skates, Raja straeleni Poll, resulted in the discovery of four new species of Acanthobothrium van Beneden, 1849, namely A. microhabentes sp. n., A. microtenuis sp. n., A. crassus sp. n., and A. dolichocollum sp. n., located off the Western Cape of South Africa. With a total of over 200 valid species of Acanthobothrium recognised worldwide, the use of an integrative approach becomes imperative in the interest of simplifying interspecific comparisons between congeners. In accordance with this, the four new species were incorporated into the category classification system established by Ghoshroy and Caira in 2001, where they were identified as category 2 species, which, at present, includes 47 recognised species of Acanthobothrium. Nevertheless, each of the four new species exhibits postovarian testes, a most intriguing and highly unusual feature among Acanthobothrium, instantly differentiating them from most congeners. This feature has been reported in 12 congeners, which have previously been considered to be restricted to waters of the Indo-Pacific Ocean. Not only do the four new congeners represent the first species of Acanthobothrium reported from southern Africa, but they also represent the first reported species with postovarian testes from the southern Atlantic Ocean. Regarding the legitimacy of the four new species, only two other category 2 species are reported to exhibit this feature, namely A. popi Fyler, Caira et Jensen, 2009, and A. bobconniorum Fyler et Caira, 2010, to which the four congeners were compared to. Acanthobothrium microhabentes sp. n. is the smallest of the congeners and differs from A. popi and A. bobconniorum by having fewer testes and postovarian testes, a shorter body, fewer proglottids, a shorter scolex, and longer cephalic peduncle. Acanthobothrium microtenuis sp. n. differs from A. popi and A. bobconniorum by having fewer testes and postovarian testes, a shorter scolex, longer cephalic peduncle, and the possession of columnar spinitriches on the anterior region of the terminal proglottid. Acanthobothrium crassus sp.n. differs from A. popi and A. bobconniorum by having fewer postovarian testes, a narrower cirrus-sac, larger vitelline follicles, and a longer cephalic peduncle. Acanthobothrium dolichocollum sp. n. is the longest of the four new species and differs from A. popi and A. bobconniorum by having fewer postovarian testes, more postporal testes, a larger body, more proglottids, larger testes and vitelline follicles, and an exceptionally long cephalic peduncle. Apart from differences in overall size, the four new species differ in a combination of measurements for the scolex, vitelline follicles, muscular pad and cephalic peduncle, and the number of proglottids and testes. The four species were recovered from a previously unexplored host and locality, expanding the host associations and geographical distribution of the genus.
... Although some information on the diversity of cestodes of sharks and rays (see Schaeffner and Beveridge, 2014) and mammals of Borneo (see Reyda and Caira, 2006) is available, we know of no cestodes of amphibians from Borneo. The cestode fragments in our sample warrant continued helminthological examination of frogs from Borneo. ...
... We agree that comparisons with each species of this expanding group is unnecessary and, as the number of species increases, an exercise in futility. In agreement with previous authors, this categorical method is useful but does not reflect groupings from a rigorous phylogenetic hypothesis (i.e., is phenetic) (Campbell and Beveridge 2002;Ivanov 2005;Reyda and Caira 2006;Twohig et al. 2008;Fyler and Caira 2010;Yang et al. 2016). ...
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Two species of Acanthobothrium (Onchoproteocephalidea: Onchobothriidae) are described from the spiral intestine of Narcineentemedor Jordan & Starks, 1895, in Bahía de Acapulco, Acapulco, Guerrero, Mexico. Based on the four criteria used for the identification of species of Acanthobothrium, A.soniaesp. nov. is a Category 2 species (less than 15 mm in total length with less than 50 proglottids, less than 80 testes, and with the ovary asymmetrical in shape). Acanthobothriumvidalisp. nov. is a Category 6 species (more than 15 mm in total length with more than 50 proglottids, fewer than 80 testes, and the ovary is asymmetrical). The new species differ from similar species from the Pacific Ocean by total length, the number of proglottids, diameter of the accessory sucker, the length of the cirrus sac, the number of testes per proglottid and the measurements of hooks. With the recognition of A.soniaesp. nov. and A.vidalisp. nov., 42 species of Acanthobothrium have been reported from the Pacific coast of the Americas. This is the first report of species of Acanthobothrium from a member of Narcine from Mexico and it brings the number of species reported from elasmobranchs from the Pacific Coast of Mexico to 13.
... It is evident that these useful morphological characters, that can distinguish the different species, are not limited to one of the four Acanthobothrium categories. The basic microthrix pattern for Acanthobothrium species is the possession of gladiate spinitriches on the proximal bothridial surfaces and papilliform filitriches on the distal bothridial surfaces (see Reyda & Caira, 2006;Fyler et al. 2009;Maleki et al. 2015). Surprisingly, the Acanthobothrium species in the current study have filitriches rather than spinitriches on their proximal bothridial surfaces. ...
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Five new species of Acanthobothrium Blanchard, 1848 are described from Gymnura cf. poecilura from the Gulf of Oman and Persian Gulf. They all belong to the Category 1 and can be differentiated from all congeners by a combination of characters, including marginal lappets on the bothridial rim, the lack of spinitrich microtriches on the proximal bothridial surfaces, the position of the genital pore in the posterior one fifth of the proglottid, the direction of the cirrus sac parallel and clinging to the ovarian lobe, the lack of post-vaginal testes, and the interruption of the vitelline follicles by the ovary. The five new species are morphologically similar to each other but differ among each other in their cephalic peduncle length, proglottid and testes number, and the apolysis status. The most similar species to this new group is Acanthobothrium fogeli Gloldstein, 1964 from the Gulf of Mexico. The new species differ from A. fogeli by the muscular pad size, cephalic peduncle length and having marginal lappets on the bothridial rim. the species of Acanthobothrium occurs in three families of elasmobranchs in the Gulf of Oman and Persian Gulf (Dasyatidae, Rhynchobatidae and Gymnuridae). The true identity of many hosts in the region is ambiguous. Therefore, we designated the sampled elasmobranch as G cf. poecilura in accordance to the previously molecular study on a few individuals from the region.
... We agree that comparisons with each species of this expanding group is unnecessary and, as the number of species increases, an exercise in futility. In agreement with previous authors, this categorical method is useful but does not reflect groupings from a rigorous phylogenetic hypothesis (i.e., is phenetic) (Campbell and Beveridge 2002;Ivanov 2005;Reyda and Caira 2006;Twohig et al. 2008;Fyler and Caira 2010;Yang et al. 2016). ...
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The helminthological examination of nine individuals of Aetobatus cf. narinari (spotted eagle ray; raya pinta; arraia pintada) revealed the presence of an undescribed species of cestode of the genus Acanthobothrium. The stingrays were collected from four locations in México: Laguna Términos, south of Isla del Carmen and the marine waters north of Isla del Carmen and Champotón, in the State of Campeche, and Isla Holbox, State of Quintana Roo. The new species, nominated Acanthobothrium marquesi, is a category 3 species (i.e, the strobila is long, has more than 50 proglottids, the numerous testicles greater than 80, and has asymmetrically-lobed ovaries); at the present, the only category 3 species that has been reported in the Western Atlantic Ocean is Acanthobothrium tortum. Acanthobothrium marquesi n. sp. can be distinguished from A. tortum by length (26.1 cm vs. 10.6 cm), greater number of proglottids (1,549 vs. 656), a larger scolex (707 µm long by 872 µm wide vs. 699 µm long by 665 µm wide), larger bothridia (626 µm long by 274 µm wide vs. 563 µm long by 238 µm wide). This is the first report of a species of Acanthobothrium from the Mexican coast of the Gulf México. Resumo O exame helmintológico do trato digestivo de nove espécimes de Aetobatus cf. narinari (arraia pintada) revelou a presença de uma nova espécie de cestódeo do gênero Acanthobothrium. As arraias foram coletadas de quatro locais no México: Laguna Términos, ao sul de Isla del Carmen e nas águas marinhas ao norte de Isla del Carmen e Champotón, no estado de Campeche, e Isla Holbox, estado de Quintana Roo. A nova espécie foi denominada Acanthobothrium marquesi, pertencente a uma espécie da categoria 3 (estrobilo longo, tendo mais de 50 proglotes, numerosos testículos, superiores a 80, e ovários assimetricamente lobados). Apenas outra espécie deste gênero, Acanthobothrium tortum pertence a categoria 3, no Oceano Atlântico Ocidental. Acanthobothrium marquesi n. sp. se distingue de A. tortum por ser mais longo (26,1 cm vs. 10,6 cm), possuir maior número de proglotes (1.549 vs. 656), ter um escolex maior (707 µm de comprimento por 872 µm de largura vs. 699 µm de comprimento por 666 µm de largura), e botridias maiores (626 µm de comprimento por 274 µm de largura vs. 563 µm de comprimento por 238 µm de largura). Este é o primeiro relato de uma espécie de Acanthobothrium do Golfo do México.
... Sequence data for the partial 28S rDNA gene were therefore found to be of great use in helping to resolve species boundaries. The present study contributes to a growing body of knowledge of elasmobranch cestodes by reporting on species of Rhinebothriinae New genus 3 from 17 species of elasmobranchs, nearly all of which have been reported as hosts for other cestode genera and species (see Euzet 1954, Butler 1987, Reyda and Caira 2006, Twohig et al. 2008, Ivanov and Caira 2012, Schaeffner and Beveridge 2012, 2014, Mojica et al. 2013, Cielocha et al. 2014, Jensen and Russell 2014, Jensen et al. 2014, Ruhnke et al. 2015). Most such reports are fairly recent and were the result of the same survey efforts that made the present study possible . ...
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Survey work of batoid elasmobranchs in the eastern Atlantic and Indo-Pacific revealed multiple species of a new genus of cestode. Stillabothrium Healy et Reyda gen. n. (Rhinebothriidea: Escherbothriidae) is unique in its possession of an even number of non-medial longitudinal septa in the posterior portion of the bothridia, resulting in a series of loculi that are longer than wide (i.e. vertically oriented) and are arranged in columns. Five new species of Stillabothrium are described, S. ashleyae Willsey et Reyda sp. n., S. davidcynthiaorum Daigler et Reyda sp. n., S. campbelli Delgado, Dedrick et Reyda sp. n., S. hyphantoseptum Herzog, Bergman et Reyda sp. n., S. jeanfortiae Forti, Aprill et Reyda sp. n., and two species are formally transferred to the genus, S. amuletum (Butler, 1987) comb. n., and S. cadenati (Euzet, 1954) comb. n., the latter of which is redescribed. The species differ in the configuration of the other bothridial septa and in proglottid anatomy. Species of Stillabothrium were found parasitising a total of 17 species of batoid elasmobranchs of the genera Dasyatis Rafinesque, Glaucostegus Bonaparte, Himantura Müller et Henle, Pastinachus Rüppell, Rhinobatos Linck and Zanobatus Garman, including several host species that are likely new to science. A phylogenetic hypothesis based on Bayesian analysis of 1 084 aligned positions of the D1-D3 region of 28S rDNA for 27 specimens representing 10 species of Stillabothrium and two outgroup species supported the monophyly of Stillabothrium. These results also supported morphologically determined species boundaries in all cases in which more than one specimen of a putative species was included in the analysis. Host specificity appears to vary across species of Stillabothrium, with the number of host species parasitised by each species of Stillabothrium ranging from one to four. The geographic distribution of species of Stillabothrium spans the eastern Hemisphere, including the eastern Atlantic (coastal Senegal) and several locations in the Indo-Pacific (coastal Vietnam, Borneo and Australia). In addition, Phyllobothrium biacetabulatum Yamaguti, 1960 is formally transferred into family Escherbothriidae, although its generic placement remains uncertain (species incertae sedis).
... They reviewed all the valid species in the genus and classified them into eight categories according to four simple and stable morphological characters, including total length, number of proglottids, testis number and ovarian symmetry or asymmetry. Although this system does not necessarily reflect phylogenetically tested groupings-there is no comprehensive phylogenetic analysis published for the genus to date-it is useful and facilitates differentiation of species (Ivanov 2005;Reyda & Caira 2006;Twohig et al. 2008;Fyler & Caira 2010). Besides the four characters mentioned above, other features commonly used are also important in the taxonomy of Acanthobothrium, such as presence/absence of post-ovarian testes and the position of the genital pore (Campbell & Beveridge 2002;Fyler et al. 2009;Maleki et al. 2015). ...
... Dasyatid stingray species of Dasyatis and Himantura have been shown to host multiple species of Acanthobothrium in other studies (e.g., Marques et al. 1995;Ghoshroy & Caira 2001;Reyda & Caira 2006;Fyler & Caira 2006). For example, Reyda & Caira (2006) described five species of Acanthobothrium and mentioned the presence of four potential additional congeners from Himantura uarnacoides (Bleeker). ...
... Dasyatid stingray species of Dasyatis and Himantura have been shown to host multiple species of Acanthobothrium in other studies (e.g., Marques et al. 1995;Ghoshroy & Caira 2001;Reyda & Caira 2006;Fyler & Caira 2006). For example, Reyda & Caira (2006) described five species of Acanthobothrium and mentioned the presence of four potential additional congeners from Himantura uarnacoides (Bleeker). With the present study, D. akajei is known to host a total of nine species of Acanthobothrium. ...
Article
Acanthobothrium ningdense n. sp. and Acanthobothrium guanghaiense n. sp. are described from the spiral intestine of the whip stingray, Dasyatis akajei (Müller & Henle). Acanthobothrium ningdense n. sp. is reported based on 38 cestode specimens collected at five locations along the Chinese coast, i.e. Taizhou, Zhejiang Province, Ningde and Xiamen, Fujian Province, Taishan, Guangdong Province and Sanya, Hainan Province between 2012 and 2015. Acanthobothrium ningdense n. sp. belongs to the "species category 4" characterised by Ghoshroy & Caira. Among category 4 Acanthobothrium species, A. ningdense n. sp. most closely resembles A. micracantha Yamaguti, 1952 and A. latum Yamaguti, 1952, both from the same host species. Acanthobothrium ningdense n. sp. differs from A. micracantha by lacking a long robust hook handle that connects the bases of medial and lateral hooks, and from A. latum by having much longer axial prongs than abaxial prongs. Acanthobothrium guanghaiense n. sp., only found in Taishan, Guangdong Province in 2014, is a category 2 Acanthobothrium species. Among category 2, A. guanghaiense n. sp. most closely resembles A. semnovesiculum Verma, 1928, but can be differentiated from it by the arrangement of testes (in two staggered columns rather than in two tandem columns), and the shape of abaxial prong (nearly straight instead of with a conspicuous curve in the proximal portion). Acanthobothrium macrocephalum Wang & Yang, 2001 is redescribed based on new specimens collected from D. akajei in Guanghai and Sanya. With this study, the total number of Acanthobothrium species reported from D. akajei is brought to nine. It is possible that some of the species of Acanthobothrium previously reported from D. akajei not encountered in this study may have geographically restricted distributions, as was observed here for A. guanghaiense n. sp.
... This pattern can be seen as being expressed on two levelsobvious and cryptic. Thus, the serranid Epinephelus maculatus has eight species of the monogenean genus Pseudorhabdosynochus (Justine, 2007), the lutjanid Symphorus nematophorus has six species of the trematode genus Retrovarium (Miller and Cribb, 2007a), and the ray Himantura uarnacoides has five species of the cestode genus Acanthobothrium (Reyda and Caira, 2006). In none of these cases, or in many comparable systems, are the species especially cryptic; in each case the requirement for identification is only for careful work. ...
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SUMMARY The effective use of biological tags in stock assessment relies on the reliable identification of the parasites concerned. This may be compromised if cryptic species are not recognized. Here we review what is known about cryptic species in aquatic hosts and its potential importance in this respect. Although strictly cryptic species may be considered as species which can be distinguished only by molecular data, we accept the far looser but more practical definition of species that cannot be readily distinguished morphologically. Cryptic species appear to have been identified most frequently as occurring in separate host species; this is heartening in that this has no significant impact on tagging studies. But cryptic species have occasionally been identified in single hosts sympatrically and are relatively common in geographically distinct populations of the same host species. Ignorance of both kinds of occurrences has the capacity to undermine the reliability of tagging analysis. We review in detail what is known of intra- and interspecific genetic variation over geographical ranges in the trematodes, based on recent molecular studies. Although the existence of cryptic species and evidence of intraspecific variability may appear daunting, we suspect that these complexities will add, and indeed have already added, to the sophistication of the information that can be derived from tagging studies.
... According to the host species from the region, the genus Acanthobothrium mainly occurs in dasyatids (11 species), gymnurids (one species) myliobatids (two species) and guitarfishes (three species). it is common to find more than one Acanthobothrium species in the one single host species , Fyler and caira 2006, reyda and caira 2006, Fyler et al. 2009), similar to the present study in which at least 2 species of Acanthobothrium were found within P. cf. sephen. ...
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Two new species of Acanthobothrium van Beneden, 1850 from the spiral intestine of Pastinachus cf. sephen Forsskål from the Iranian coast of the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman are described. To analyse the surface ultrastructure the worms were studied using light and scanning electron microscopy. Acanthobothrium jalalii sp. n. belongs to the category 1 species of the genus so far including 43 species. This tiny new species differs from the other category 1 species by its small total length (2.18 +/- 0.49 mm), number of proglottids (4.7 +/- 0.9) and testes (24 +/- 3), terminal segments in an apolytic condition and the shape of the cirrus-sac. Acanthobothrium sphaera sp. n. is a small worm that belongs to the category 2 species of the genus so far including 36 species. A. sphaera sp. n. differs from the other category 2 species by its small total length (1.6 +/- 0.2 mm), number of proglottids (9.6 +/- 1.2) and testes (12 +/- 1), the presence of a vaginal sphincter and the shape of the ovary. This is the first report of Acanthobothrium from the cowtail stingray, P cf. sephen, from the Persian Gulf and Gulf of Oman. Pastinachus sephen sensu lato has been reported as a common host of species of Acanthobothrium. Most recently, the host genus Pastinachus Rüppell has been split into five nominal species and several Acanthobothrium species infect the newly described congeners but not P. sephen. The real identity of the host studied within the present study is still in question, since sequence data of three specimens from the Gulf of Oman do not correspond to P. sephen sensu stricto.
... Differences in scolex microthrix patterns have proven to be of great taxonomic utility in cestode systematics, particularly in those orders parasitizing elasmobranchs (e.g., Richmond and Caira, 1991;Ruhnke et al., 2006;Ruhnke and Carpenter, 2008;Chervy, 2009). So much so that, in modern taxonomic descriptions of new elasmobranch cestodes (e.g., Ivanov and Campbell, 2002;Reyda and Caira, 2006;Ivanov, 2009;Jensen et al., 2011;Rodriguez et al., 2011), it is now common practice to characterize microthrix variation throughout the scolex. However, the utility of microtriches varies among taxa. ...
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Abstract Tetraphyllidean cestodes of the genus Trilocularia have been reported from Squalus acanthias, throughout this shark's global distribution, occupying both the stomach and spiral intestine. This study investigated whether variation seen in microthrix form among specimens within this host species is indicative of interspecific variation or is attributable to developmental transformation of a single cestode species. Sequence data for the 2 nuclear genes 28S rDNA (D1-D3) and ITS1, and the mitochondrial gene 16S rDNA, were generated for 22 specimens of Trilocularia; 3 from the stomach and 19 from the spiral intestine, including individuals exhibiting each of the 3 spinithrix forms found. Sequence data for 22 specimens were identical for the 2 nuclear genes. Some variation was seen in the mitochondrial gene, but Maximum Likelihood analysis revealed no pattern with site and/or microthrix type, suggesting microthrix variation may be developmental. To explore the developmental hypothesis further, a total of 118 juvenile worms from the stomach and 124 from the spiral intestine were collected from S. acanthias off the coast of Rhode Island, and examined with either Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) or light microscopy. SEM revealed differences in microthrix form between worms from the 2 sites. Of the stomach and spiral intestine worms examined respectively, 98% vs. 30% were scolopate, 2% vs. 47% were aristate gladiate, and 0% vs. 15% were lingulate in microthrix form. In addition, 3 of the 77 specimens from the spiral intestine examined with SEM exhibited mixtures of spinitriches. ANOVAs showed significant differences in the morphometrics of stomach worms when compared to spiral intestine worms, as well as significant differences in the scolex width to below scolex width ratio of worms with scolopate spinitriches when compared to those with aristate gladiate or lingulate spinitriches. In combination, these data suggest that microthrix form may change over the course of development, suggesting caution should be exercised when interpreting microthrix patterns in the context of species designations.