Table_1_Pterygodermatites (Mesopectines) whartoni (Nematoda: Rictulariidae) encysted larvae in invasive Cuban treefrogs (Osteopilus septentrionalis) from Florida, United States.docx

Species of Pterygodermatites are spirurid nematodes that have expanded their geographic distribution worldwide. They infect a variety of mammalian definitive hosts with few reports of potential paratenic infections in amphibian and reptile hosts. In this study, we report Pterygodermatites sp. larvae identified in free-ranging, invasive Cuban treefrogs (Osteopilus septentrionalis), from central Florida, United States. Encysted larvae were recovered from the skeletal muscle and/or the coelomic cavity of three frogs; molecular characterization of the small subunit (18S) ribosomal RNA and cytochrome oxidase I genes of the parasites matched reported sequences of Pterygodermatites (Mesopectines) whartoni (Tubangui, 1931). This is a parasite native to Southeastern Asia and to the best of the authors’ knowledge, it is the first report of the species in the New World. The recovery of invasive Pterygodermatites from invasive Cuban treefrogs in North America highlights the growing concern regarding the potential impact non-native parasites and invasive species may have on native wildlife populations.

翼皮线虫属（Pterygodermatites）物种隶属于旋尾目线虫（spirurid nematodes），其地理分布已扩张至全球范围。该属寄生虫可寄生于多种哺乳类终末宿主，目前仅有少量关于其在两栖类与爬行类宿主中存在潜在转续感染的报道。本研究报道了采自美国佛罗里达州中部野外自由栖息的入侵性古巴树蛙（Osteopilus septentrionalis）体内的翼皮线虫属未定种（Pterygodermatites sp.）幼虫。研究人员从3只蛙类的骨骼肌及/或体腔中分离得到囊包幼虫；对该寄生虫的小亚基（18S）核糖体RNA与细胞色素氧化酶I基因开展分子鉴定，其序列与已发表的沃氏翼皮线虫（中纹亚属）Pterygodermatites (Mesopectines) whartoni (Tubangui, 1931)的序列完全匹配。该寄生虫原产于东南亚，据作者所知，这是该物种在新大陆的首次报道。此次在北美从入侵性古巴树蛙体内分离到入侵性翼皮线虫，凸显了外来寄生虫与入侵物种对本土野生动物种群可能造成的潜在影响，这一问题正日益受到学界关注。