Truter M, Yong R Q-Y, Smit W, Chakona A, Luus-Powell W J, Smit N J
Water Research Group, Unit for Environmental Sciences and Management, https://ror.org/010f1sq29North-West University2531, South Africa.
https://ror.org/00bfgxv06NRF-South African Institute for Aquatic Biodiversity (NRF-SAIAB), Makhanda, 6140, South Africa.
J Helminthol. 2025 Jul 14;99:e75. doi: 10.1017/S0022149X2510045X.
The freshwater fish fauna of southern Africa is highly diverse; however, the magnitude of parasitic species they host is unevenly known. The region's documented adult trematode fish fauna is sparse, while the opposite is evident for intermediate trematode stages. Perceived difficulty in identification of underdeveloped stages lead to the exclusion of reporting metacercariae or lack either morphological or molecular data resulting in a depauperate comparative molecular data repository for species of the region and Africa as a whole. In an effort to address the morphological and molecular data void of the parasite fauna of southern African freshwater fishes, we sought to comprehensively investigate and characterise this fauna. Here we report on three metacercarial forms of (Clinostomidae) from three fish families (Clariidae, Mochokidae, and Mormyridae), provide the first report of a species of the Cryptogonimidae from a cyprinid host in South Africa, and include molecular data for the partial 28S rDNA, ITS1-2 and COI mtDNA regions of these metacercarial forms. Our clinostomid specimens morphologically and genetically corresponded with (e.g., ) and 'morphotype 2' and 'morphotype 3' per Caffara (2017) from the mormyrid and the mochokid catfish sp., respectively. Our cryptogonimid metacercariae did not correspond with any known species or available molecular sequence data; however, the presence of robust circumoral spines on the oral sucker indicated that they are either a species of or The molecular data we provide are the first for an /-type cryptogonimid from Africa.
南部非洲的淡水鱼类区系高度多样；然而，它们所寄生的寄生虫物种数量却鲜为人知。该地区已记录的成年吸虫鱼类区系稀少，而吸虫中间阶段的情况则相反。由于人们认为鉴定发育不全阶段存在困难，导致报告尾蚴时被排除在外，或者缺乏形态学或分子数据，从而使得该地区乃至整个非洲物种的比较分子数据存储库匮乏。为了填补南部非洲淡水鱼寄生虫区系在形态学和分子数据方面的空白，我们试图对这一动物区系进行全面调查和特征描述。在此，我们报告了来自三个鱼类科（胡子鲶科、蝌蚪鲶科和长颌鱼科）的三种斜口吸虫科尾蚴形态，首次报告了南非鲤科宿主中的隐殖科一个物种，并提供了这些尾蚴形态的部分28S核糖体DNA、ITS1-2和细胞色素氧化酶亚基I线粒体DNA区域的分子数据。我们的斜口吸虫标本在形态和基因上分别与来自长颌鱼科的Caffara（2017年）的斜口吸虫属（如）以及来自蝌蚪鲶属鲶鱼的“形态型2”和“形态型3”相对应。我们的隐殖科尾蚴与任何已知物种或可用分子序列数据均不相符；然而，口吸盘上粗壮的口周棘的存在表明它们要么是隐殖属的一个物种，要么是隐孔属的一个物种。我们提供的分子数据是非洲首次关于隐殖科/型的分子数据。
