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Title: Hymenolepis folkertsi n. sp. (Eucestoda: Hymenolepididae) in the oldfield mouse Peromyscus polionotus from the southeastern Nearctic with comments on tapeworm faunal diversity among deer mice

Author
item MAKARIKOV, ARSENY - Russian Academy Of Sciences
item NIMS, TODD - Georgia Perimeter College
item GALBREATH, KURT - Northern Michigan University
item Hoberg, Eric

Submitted to: Folia Parasitologica
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 2/27/2015
Publication Date: 3/13/2015
Citation: Makarikov, A.A., Nims, T.N., Galbreath, K.E., Hoberg, E.P. 2015. Hymenolepis folkertsi n. sp. (Eucestoda: Hymenolepididae) in the oldfield mouse Peromyscus polionotus from the southeastern Nearctic with comments on tapeworm faunal diversity among deer mice. Folia Parasitologica. 114(6):2107-2117.

Interpretive Summary: Over the past century, it was generally accepted that among mammalian and rodent tapeworms, many species were widespread, often with intercontinental distributions, and were characterized by considerable morphological variation without definable limits related either to geography or host association. Studies across a spectrum of host taxa including rodents, however, have increasingly identified the broad occurrence of poorly differentiated or cryptic parasite species suggesting that considerable diversity remains to be discovered and characterized. Descriptions of parasite diversity contribute directly to concepts for faunal assembly and are a reflection of historical processes that have structured the biosphere, and thus lead to predictions about the distribution of complex assemblages of hosts and parasites in space and time. Interacting abiotic and biotic mechanisms, and patterns of geographic isolation over time, support the idea that endemic hosts may be predicted to have unique helminth faunas. Following from these observations, a previously unrecognized species of tapeworm in the genus Hymenolepis is described based on specimens in Peromyscus polionotus, oldfield mouse, from Georgia near the southeastern coast of continental North America. Hymenolepidid tapeworms have sporadically been reported among the highly diverse assemblage of Peromyscus which includes 56 distinct species in North America. Although the host genus has a great temporal duration and is endemic to the Nearctic, current evidence suggests that tapeworm faunal diversity reflects relatively recent assembly through bouts of host switching among rodents with common geographic ranges. This understanding is important in providing insights about the history and distribution of other pathogens that circulate in deer mice, especially the Hantaviruses that can cause critical disease in humans. Consequently, explorations among poorly investigated hosts are critically important foundations in broader investigations of faunal diversity. Our contribution will be of interest to parasitologists, disease ecologists, mammalogists and wildlife biologists across a spectrum of governmental and non-governmental agencies exploring patterns of pathogen diversity and potential emergent disease.

Technical Abstract: A previously unrecognized species of hymenolepidid cestode attributable to Hymenolepis Weinland, 1858 is described based on specimens in Peromyscus polionotus, oldfield mouse, from Georgia near the southeastern coast of continental North America. Specimens of Hymenolepis folkertsi n. sp. differ from those attributed to most other species in the genus by having testes arranged in a triangle and a scolex with a prominent rostrum-like protrusion. The newly recognized species is further distinguished by the relative position and length of the cirrus sac, shape of seminal receptacle and relative size of external seminal vesicle and seminal receptacle. Hymenolepidid cestodes have sporadically been reported among the highly diverse assemblage of Peromyscus which includes 56 distinct species in the Nearctic. Although the host genus has a great temporal duration and is endemic to the Nearctic, current evidence suggests that tapeworm faunal diversity reflects relatively recent assembly through bouts of host switching among other cricetid, murid and geomyid rodents in sympatry.