Description and phylogenetic position of a new species of Rhabdias Stiles et Hassall, 1905 (Nematoda: Rhabdiasidae) from the banded rubber frog, Phrynomantis bifasciatus (Smith) (Amphibia: Microhylidae), in South Africa.

Abstract

The lung-dwelling nematode Rhabdias engelbrechti sp. n. was found in five of eight examined banded rubber frogs in Limpopo Province, South Africa. The species is differentiated from species of Rhabdias Stiles et Hassall, 1905 occurring in the Afrotropical Realm based on the presence of a globular cuticular inflation at the anterior end, the buccal capsule walls being distinctly divided into anterior and posterior parts, the buccal capsule size (6-9 μm × 16-18 μm), and the body length (3.8-6.1 mm). Rhabdias engelbrechti is the tenth species of the genus found in Afrotropical anurans. Our molecular phylogenetic analysis based on the complete sequences of the ITS region and partial sequences of large subunit (28S) gene of the nuclear ribosomal RNA demonstrates that the new species is more closely related to the Eurasian species Rhabdias bufonis (Schrank, 1788) than to two other species from sub-Saharan Africa represented in the tree. In addition, partial sequences of the mitochondrial protein coding cox1 and ribosomal 12S genes of the new species have shown significant differences from all previously published sequences of these genes from African species of Rhabdias.