I report digenean metacercariae from Staurozoa, which were not previously known as digenean hosts. The host species, Haliclystus tenuis Kishinouye, 1910, was collected from algae in Oshoro Bay, Hokkaido, Japan, and contained metacercariae in the mesoglea. The metacercariae were encysted; cysts were oval, 93 µm long by 64 µm wide in one live individual. For the digenean, I generated partial sequences for the 18S rRNA (1585 bp) and 28S rRNA (1672 bp) genes, and the region spanning the 3′ end of the cytochrome c oxidase subunit gene and the 5′ end of the 16S rRNA gene, including the threonine tRNA gene (868 bp in total). Phylogenetic reconstructions based on combined 18S + 28S datasets showed the digenean to belong in Opecoelidae, members of which utilize marine or freshwater teleost fishes as definitive hosts, and placed it in Plagioporinae (sensu lato) clade C within Opecoelidae.
How to translate text using browser tools
3 January 2022
Digenean Metacercariae Parasitic in a Staurozoan Cnidarian
Keiichi Kakui
ACCESS THE FULL ARTICLE
Zoological Science
Vol. 39 • No. 2
April 2022
Vol. 39 • No. 2
April 2022
COI
Fluke
intermediate host
Medusozoa
Platyhelminthes
Scyphozoa
stalked jellyfish