Description of two new species of allocreadiid trematodes (Digenea: Allocreadiidae) in middle American freshwater fishes using an integrative taxonomy approach.

Abstract

Integrative taxonomy uses several sources of information to establish more robust species delimitation criteria. In this study, we followed that approach to describe two new species of allocreadiid trematodes from freshwater fish distributed in locations across Middle America. The new species were first recognized by using sequences of the domains D1-D3 of the ribosomal 28S rRNA gene and then, morphological data (light and scanning electron microscopy (SEM)), host association, and geographical distribution were considered as additional sources of information to complement the species delimitation and description. Auriculostoma tica n. sp. was found in the intestine of Gymnotus maculosus Albert and Miller in Costa Rica, while Wallinia anindoi n. sp. was found in the intestine of Astyanax aeneus (Günther) in Oaxaca and Chiapas, Mexico, as well as in a location of Guatemala. A phylogenetic analysis combining newly generated sequences of the two new species along with those available for other allocreadiids in GenBank, revealed that isolates of each species are reciprocally monophyletic, and also their interrelationships: Au. tica n. sp. is a sister taxon of Auriculostoma totonacapanensis Razo-Mendivil et al., 2014, and W. anindoi n. sp. is a sister taxon of Wallinia brasiliensis Dias, et al., 2018. Genetic distances for the 28S rRNA gene were estimated among the American species of allocreadiids and further supported the validity of the new species.