TY - JOUR
T1 - Nematodes from the Tasmanian devil (Sarcophilus harrisii (Boitard)), with the description of Sarcophiloxyuris longus n. gen. and n. sp. (Oxyuridae)
AU - Barton, Di
AU - Smales, L.
AU - Lee, Vanessa
AU - Zhu, Xiaocheng
AU - Shamsi, Shokoofeh
PY - 2021
Y1 - 2021
N2 - The Tasmanian devil (Sarcophilus harrisii
(Boitard)) is an endangered carnivorous marsupial, limited to the
islands of Tasmania in southern Australia. The parasites of the
Tasmanian devil are understudied. This study aimed to increase the
knowledge of the nematode fauna of Tasmanian devils. Ten Tasmanian
devils were examined for parasites from northern and southern Tasmania.
Nematodes that were collected were morphologically characterized as two
separate species. Molecular sequencing was undertaken to verify the
identity of these species. A new genus and species of oxyurid nematode
was collected from a single Tasmanian devil from the northern part of
Tasmania. The nematode is differentiated from oxyurids described from
other Australian amphibians, reptiles and marsupials by the characters
of the male posterior end – that is, in having three pairs of caudal
papillae, two pairs peri-cloacal, one large pair post-cloacal, a long
tapering tail, a stout spicule and a gubernaculum and accessory piece,
as well as its much larger overall size. Molecular sequencing was
unsuccessful. The remaining nematodes collected from the Tasmanian devil
in this study were all identified as Baylisascaris tasmaniensis Sprent, 1970,
through morphology and molecular sequencing. This paper presents the
first description of a new genus and species of oxyurid nematode from
the Tasmanian devil, Sarcophiloxyuris longus
n. gen., n. sp. The need to undertake more sampling of the parasites of
endangered hosts, such as the Tasmanian devil, to assist with a better
understanding of their conservation management, is discussed.
AB - The Tasmanian devil (Sarcophilus harrisii
(Boitard)) is an endangered carnivorous marsupial, limited to the
islands of Tasmania in southern Australia. The parasites of the
Tasmanian devil are understudied. This study aimed to increase the
knowledge of the nematode fauna of Tasmanian devils. Ten Tasmanian
devils were examined for parasites from northern and southern Tasmania.
Nematodes that were collected were morphologically characterized as two
separate species. Molecular sequencing was undertaken to verify the
identity of these species. A new genus and species of oxyurid nematode
was collected from a single Tasmanian devil from the northern part of
Tasmania. The nematode is differentiated from oxyurids described from
other Australian amphibians, reptiles and marsupials by the characters
of the male posterior end – that is, in having three pairs of caudal
papillae, two pairs peri-cloacal, one large pair post-cloacal, a long
tapering tail, a stout spicule and a gubernaculum and accessory piece,
as well as its much larger overall size. Molecular sequencing was
unsuccessful. The remaining nematodes collected from the Tasmanian devil
in this study were all identified as Baylisascaris tasmaniensis Sprent, 1970,
through morphology and molecular sequencing. This paper presents the
first description of a new genus and species of oxyurid nematode from
the Tasmanian devil, Sarcophiloxyuris longus
n. gen., n. sp. The need to undertake more sampling of the parasites of
endangered hosts, such as the Tasmanian devil, to assist with a better
understanding of their conservation management, is discussed.
KW - Endangered species
KW - parasite-host dynamics
KW - biodiversity
KW - conservation
U2 - 10.1017/S0022149X21000298
DO - 10.1017/S0022149X21000298
M3 - Article
C2 - 34325751
SN - 0022-149X
VL - 95
JO - Journal of Helminthology
JF - Journal of Helminthology
M1 - e38
ER -
