Description of new species of Trematoda from bats of Southeastern Mexico and a new classification for Brachylecithum rileyi n. comb. (Dicrocoeliidae)

Abstract

To date, 23 species of trematodes have been reported in bats from Mexico. However, in some regions of Mexico, such as the Yucatan Peninsula, many species of bats do not have helminthological records. Here, we sampled bats in four localities in Southeastern Mexico from April 2017 to February 2022. Parasites were collected from the intestine of four species of bats: Pteronotus fulvus, Eumops nanus, Noctilio leporinus and Nyctinomops laticaudatus. Conventional morphological techniques and molecular tools with the 28S ribosomal gene were used to describe the helminths. We discovered that our parasites represent three new species and a new combination of trematodes. We found that the new species have morphological differences with their congeneric species, and we complement this information whit molecular data. Furthermore, we found morphological and molecular evidence that places Dicrocoelium rileyi within the genus Brachylecithum. This study points out the importance of comparing morphological and phylogenetic information.

Uncovering further diversity of Ochoterenatrema Caballero, 1943 (Digenea: Lecithodendriidae) in South American bats

“…There has been a recent increase in studies of bat helminths in the Neotropics, in some contrast to the lack of recent similar studies in the Nearctic (Achatz et al, 2018 , 2020 ; Tkach et al, 2018 , 2019 ; Fernandes et al 2019 , 2021a , b , 2022 ; Panti-May et al, 2021 ; Moguel-Chin et al, 2023 , 2024 ; Kinsella et al, 2024 ). All these studies have invariably demonstrated that the helminth fauna of bats in the Western Hemisphere remains understudied and that these hosts likely harbor a much richer fauna of helminth parasites than currently known.…”