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. 2023 Jul 24;32(3):e007823.
doi: 10.1590/S1984-29612023045. eCollection 2023.

New species of Polystomoides (Monogenoidea: Polystomatidae) parasitizing the urinary bladder of a freshwater turtle in Brazil

Julia Somavilla Lignon  1 , Simone Chinicz Cohen  2 , Marcia Cristina Nascimento Justo  2 , Louis Du Preez  3   4 , Carine Glaucia Comarella  1 , Rogerio Akio Nishimaru  5 , Paulo Vinicius Abbade Moreira Souza  6 , Michelli Westphal de Ataíde  7 , Daniel Curvellho de Mendonça Müller  8 , Maurício Veloso Brun  8 , Silvia Gonzalez Monteiro  1
Affiliations

New species of Polystomoides (Monogenoidea: Polystomatidae) parasitizing the urinary bladder of a freshwater turtle in Brazil

Julia Somavilla Lignon et al. Rev Bras Parasitol Vet. .

Abstract
in English, Portuguese

Trachemys dorbigni is the most abundant freshwater turtle species in Rio Grande do Sul, southern Brazil. Chelonians are known to host a wide variety of pathogens, including viruses, bacteria, hemoparasites and helminths. Among these, nine genera of polystomatid flatworms (Monogenoidea; Polystomatidae) infect freshwater turtles: Apaloneotrema, Aussietrema, Fornixtrema, Manotrema, Pleurodirotrema, Polystomoidella, Polystomoides, Uropolystomoides and Uteropolystomoides. However, little is known about the biology of these parasites in the Neotropical Realm. Through investigative cystoscopy, specimens of Polystomatidae were located inside the urinary bladder of the host T. dorbigni. Retrieved specimens were fixed and stained whole mounts prepared for taxonomic identification. In the present paper, a new species of Polystomoides (Monogenoidea: Polystomatidae) parasitizing the urinary bladder of a freshwater turtle of the species T. dorbigni in Brazil is described. Polystomoides santamariensis n. sp. differs from the congeneric species on the length of the genital spines, which are longer. Given the enormous diversity of freshwater turtles around the world, it is likely that a large number of chelonian polystomatids are still unknown.

Trachemys dorbigni é a espécie de tartaruga de água doce mais abundante do Rio Grande do Sul, no Sul do Brasil. Sabe-se que os quelônios são hospedeiros de uma grande variedade de patógenos, incluindo vírus, bactérias, hemoparasitos e helmintos. Dentre estes, oito gêneros de Polystomatidae (Platyhelminthes: Monogenoidea) infectam tartarugas de água doce: Apaloneotrema, Aussietrema, Fornixtrema, Manotrema, Pleurodirotrema, Polystomoidella, Polystomoides, Uropolystomoides e Uteropolystomoides. No entanto, pouco ainda se sabe sobre a biologia destes parasitos na Região Neotropical. Durante uma citoscopia investigativa, foram observados espécimes de Polystomatidae localizados no interior da bexiga urinária de T. dorbigni. Os espécimes coletados foram fixados e corados para identificação taxonômica. No presente artigo, uma nova espécie de Polystomoides (Monogenoidea: Polystomatidae) parasitando a bexiga urinária de tartaruga de água doce da espécie T. dorbigni no Brasil é descrita. Polystomoides santamariensis n. sp. difere das demais espécies no tamanho dos espinhos genitais, que são maiores. Devido a enorme diversidade de tartarugas de água doce ao redor do mundo, é provável que um grande número de polistomatídeos de quelônios ainda seja desconhecido.

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Conflict of interest statement

Conflict of interest: The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1. Polystomoides santamariensis n. sp. Holotype. A - Ventral view. Bar= 1mm; B - Genital spines. Bar= 100 μm; C - Marginal hooklets. Bar= 10 μm. Abbreviations: mo, mouth; ph, pharynx; gb, genital bulb; vd, vas deferens; eg, egg; va, vagina; ov, ovary; ic, intestinal cecum; te, testis; su, sucker; hp, haptor.
Figure 3
Figure 3. Specimens of Polystomoides santamariensis n. sp. in host’s urinary bladder (Trachemys dorbigni). A - Parasite fixed in mucosa (arrow); B - View of its suckers; C - Parasite stretching to move; D - Specimen collected using semi-rigid forceps.
Figure 2
Figure 2. Polystomoides santamariensis n. sp. A - Total, ventral view. Bar= 1mm; B - Anterior region, showing mouth and pharynx. Bar= 300 μm; C - Genital bulb with 16 spines. Bar= 100 μm.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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