New records of Amphibiophilus spp. (Nematoda: Amphibiophilidae) parasitic in Strongylopus grayii (Smith) and Amietia delalandii (Duméril & Bibron) (Amphibia: Anura: Pyxicephalidae) in South Africa, with a description of Amphibiophilus bialatus n. sp.

Abstract

Nematodes of the genus Amphibiophilus Skrjabin, 1916 are a small group of parasites restricted to pyxicephalid frogs in southern Africa. In the present study, the new species A. bialatus parasitising the clicking stream frog Strongylopus grayii (Smith) as well as two forms parasitising the common river frog Amietia delalandii (Duméril & Bibron) from two distant localities are described. Amphibiophilus bialatus n. sp. clearly differs from the remaining species of the genus by having wide cervical alae, the dorsal oesophageal tooth not reaching the oral opening, and the presence of extra processes on the spicules. Specimens parasitising Am. delalandii in Mpumalanga Province and Limpopo Province, South Africa, differed from other species and from each other in the shape of the gubernaculum, though were almost identical in other characters. Based on morphological and molecular data, specimens from two localities were assigned to Amphibiophilus sp. 1 and Amphibiophilus sp. 2. Pairwise analyses of ITS-28S and cox1 gene fragments are presented for four Amphibiophilus spp.