Faculté Des Sciences de Tunis, Ecologie, Biologie Et Physiologie Des Organismes Aquatiques, Université de Tunis El Manar, Tunis, Tunisia.
Faculty of Natural Sciences, Institute of Biology, Biotechnology and Environmental Protection, University of Silesia in Katowice, Katowice, Poland.
Mol Biol Rep. 2023 Aug;50(8):6753-6767. doi: 10.1007/s11033-023-08594-z. Epub 2023 Jun 30.
Herein, we describe a new species of turtle blood-feeding leech, Placobdella nabeulensis sp. nov. from Palearctic North Africa (Tunisia and Algeria). The new species is described based on detailed morphological analyses using light and scanning electron microscopes.
Apart from the detailed morphology of the atrium, morphological features alone do not sufficiently separate the species from congeners due to the absence of distinct diagnostic characters. Therefore, we turned to molecular data to better distinguish this new species from other members of the genus and establish a basis for its genetic separation. Four DNA fragments were successfully amplified, including mitochondrial COI and 12S rDNA, as well as nuclear 28S rDNA and histone H3. We then provided the molecular descriptor of the taxon, based on redundant diagnostic nucleotide combinations in DNA sequence alignment within the Folmer region. Results of the phylogenetic analysis and species delimitation methods (ABGD, ASAP, and bPTP) based on the COI locus support the species rank of the Tunisian-Algerian Placobdella.
The new species is most closely related to the European species Placobdella costata (Fr. Müller, 1846) and the present study indicates that Placobdella nabeulensis sp. nov. has likely been confused with the European counterpart in several previous studies. This article is registered at www.zoobank.org under urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:4A4B9C1D-2556-430F-8E4B-0CE99F2012F5.
本文描述了一种来自北非古北区（突尼斯和阿尔及利亚）的龟鳖类吸血蛭新种，即纳比勒氏扁蛭（Placobdella nabeulensis sp. nov.）。该新种是基于使用光镜和扫描电子显微镜进行的详细形态分析而描述的。
除了心房的详细形态外，由于缺乏明显的鉴别特征，形态特征本身并不能充分将该新种与同属种区分开来。因此，我们转向分子数据，以更好地区分这个新种与属内的其他成员，并为其遗传分离奠定基础。成功扩增了四个 DNA 片段，包括线粒体 COI 和 12S rDNA，以及核 28S rDNA 和组蛋白 H3。然后，我们根据 Folmer 区 DNA 序列比对中的冗余诊断核苷酸组合，提供了分类群的分子描述符。基于 COI 基因座的系统发育分析和物种界定方法（ABGD、ASAP 和 bPTP）的结果支持了北非突尼斯-阿尔及利亚扁蛭的种级地位。
该新种与欧洲物种 Placobdella costata（Fr. Müller，1846）最为密切相关，本研究表明，在先前的几项研究中，Placobdella nabeulensis sp. nov. 可能与欧洲的对应种混淆。本文在 www.zoobank.org 上注册，登录号为 urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:4A4B9C1D-2556-430F-8E4B-0CE99F2012F5。
