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The first troglobitic species of freshwater flatworm of the suborder Continenticola (Platyhelminthes) from South America.

ABSTRACT: Brazilian cave diversity, especially of invertebrates, is poorly known. The Bodoquena Plateau, which is located in the Cerrado Biome in central Brazil, has approximately 200 recorded caves with a rich system of subterranean water resources and high troglobitic diversity. Herein we describe a new troglobitic species of Girardia that represents the first obligate cave-dwelling species of the suborder Continenticola in South America. Specimens of the new species, which occur in a limestone cave in the Bodoquena Plateau, in the Cerrado biome, are unpigmented and eyeless. Species recognition in the genus Girardia is difficult, due to their great morphological resemblance. However, the new species can be easily recognized by a unique feature in its copulatory apparatus, namely a large, branched bulbar cavity with multiple diverticula.

SUBMITTER: de Souza ST

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4304035 | biostudies-literature | 2015

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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The first troglobitic species of freshwater flatworm of the suborder Continenticola (Platyhelminthes) from South America.

de Souza Stella Teles ST Morais Ana Laura Nunes AL Cordeiro Lívia Medeiros LM Leal-Zanchet Ana Maria AM

ZooKeys 20150112 470

Brazilian cave diversity, especially of invertebrates, is poorly known. The Bodoquena Plateau, which is located in the Cerrado Biome in central Brazil, has approximately 200 recorded caves with a rich system of subterranean water resources and high troglobitic diversity. Herein we describe a new troglobitic species of Girardia that represents the first obligate cave-dwelling species of the suborder Continenticola in South America. Specimens of the new species, which occur in a limestone cave in ...[more]

PMID: 25632242

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Project description:BACKGROUND:The Atlantic Forest is globally one of the priority ecoregions for biodiversity conservation. In Argentina, it is represented by the Paranense Forest, which covers a vast area of Misiones Province between the Paraná and Uruguay rivers. The Uruguay River is a global hotspot of freshwater gastropod diversity, here mainly represented by Tateidae (genus Potamolithus) and to a lesser extent Chilinidae. The family Chilinidae (Gastropoda, Hygrophila) includes 21 species currently recorded in Argentina, and three species in the Uruguay River. The species of Chilinidae occur in quite different types of habitats, but generally in clean oxygenated water recording variable temperature ranges. Highly oxygenated freshwater environments (waterfalls and rapids) are the most vulnerable continental environments. We provide here novel information on three new species of Chilinidae from environments containing waterfalls and rapids in the Uruguay River malacological province of Argentina. MATERIALS AND METHODS:The specimens were collected in 2010. We analyzed shell, radula, and nervous and reproductive systems, and determined the molecular genetics. The genetic distance was calculated for two mitochondrial markers (cytochrome c oxidase subunit I-COI- and cytochrome b -Cyt b-) for these three new species and the species recorded from the Misionerean, Uruguay River and Lower Paraná-Río de la Plata malacological provinces. In addition, the COI data were analyzed phylogenetically by the neighbor-joining and Bayesian inference techniques. RESULTS:The species described here are different in terms of shell, radula and nervous and reproductive systems, mostly based on the sculpture of the penis sheath. Phylogenetic analyses grouped the three new species with those present in the Lower Paraná-Río de la Plata and Uruguay River malacological provinces. DISCUSSION:Phylogenetic analyses confirm the separation between the Uruguay River and the Misionerean malacological provinces in northeast Argentina. These new endemic species from the Uruguay River add further support to the suggestion that this river is a diversity hotspot of freshwater gastropods (with 54 species present in this basin, 15 of them endemic). These endemic species from environments with rapids and waterfalls should be taken into account by government agencies before the construction of dams that modify those ecologic niches in the Uruguay River.

Project description:BACKGROUND:Proseriates (Proseriata, Platyhelminthes) are free-living, mostly marine, flatworms measuring at most a few millimetres. In common with many flatworms, they are known to be capable of regeneration; however, few studies have been done on the details of regeneration in proseriates, and none cover cellular dynamics. We have tested the regeneration capacity of the proseriate Monocelis sp. by pre-pharyngeal amputation and provide the first comprehensive picture of the F-actin musculature, serotonergic nervous system and proliferating cells (S-phase in pulse and pulse-chase experiments and mitoses) in control animals and in regenerates. RESULTS:F-actin staining revealed a strong body wall, pharynx and dorsoventral musculature, while labelling of the serotonergic nervous system showed an orthogonal pattern and a well developed subepidermal plexus. Proliferating cells were distributed in two broad lateral bands along the anteroposterior axis and their anterior extension was delimited by the brain. No proliferating cells were detected in the pharynx or epidermis. Monocelis sp. was able to regenerate the pharynx and adhesive organs at the tip of the tail plate within 2 or 3 days of amputation, and genital organs within 8 to 10 days. Posterior pieces were not able to regenerate a head. The posterior regeneration blastema was found to be a centre of cell proliferation, whereas within the pharynx primordium, little or no proliferation was detected. The pharynx regenerated outside of the blastema and was largely, but not solely formed by cells that were proliferating at the time of amputation. CONCLUSIONS:Our findings suggest that proliferating cells or their offspring migrated to the place of organ differentiation and then stopped proliferating at that site. This mode of rebuilding organs resembles the mode of regeneration of the genital organs in another flatworm, Macrostomum lignano. Pharynx regeneration resembles embryonic development in Monocelis fusca and hints at the vertically directed pharynx being plesiomorphic in proseriates. Proliferation within the regeneration blastema has been detected in anterior and posterior blastemas of other flatworms, but is notably missing in triclads. The phylogenetic relationships of the flatworms studied indicate that proliferation within the blastema is the plesiomorphic condition in Platyhelminthes.

Dataset Information

The first troglobitic species of freshwater flatworm of the suborder Continenticola (Platyhelminthes) from South America.

Publications

The first troglobitic species of freshwater flatworm of the suborder Continenticola (Platyhelminthes) from South America.

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