588 Accepted by N. Dronen: 27 May 2016; published: 1 Jul. 2016 ZOOTAXA ISSN 1175-5326 (print edition) ISSN 1175-5334 (online edition) Copyright © 2016 Magnolia Press Zootaxa 4132 (4): 588–590 http://www.mapress.com/j/zt/ Correspondence http://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.4132.4.10 http://zoobank.org/urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:13AD8FC5-25A9-4CE5-8541-C3124BEB4822 First molecular identification of Australapatemon burti (Miller, 1923) (Trematoda: Digenea: Strigeidae) from an intermediate host Radix labiata (Rossmaessler) (Gastropoda: Lymnaeidae) in Europe OLGA V. AKSENOVA, YULIA V. BESPALAYA, IVAN N. BOLOTOV, ALEXANDER V. KONDAKOV & SVETLANA E. SOKOLOVA The Russian Museum of Biodiversity Hotspots, IBIGER – Institute of Biogeography and Genetic Resources, Federal Center for Integrated Arctic Research, Russian Academy of Sciences, Severnaya Dvina Emb. 23, 163000 Arkhangelsk, Russian Federation. E-mail: aksyonova.olga@gmail.com; jbespalaja@yandex.ru; inepras@yandex.ru; akondakv@yandex.ru; svetlasokolova@ya.ru The strigeid digenean species Australapatemon burti (Miller, 1923) (Trematoda: Digenea: Strigeidae) was originally described from North America, but recorded in the Neotropical region (Drago et al. 2007; Hernández-Mena et al. 2014; Blasco-Costa et al. 2016) and in Central Europe (Faltýnková et al. 2007). In Europe, this species is rare, and there is not much information about its range (Faltýnková et al. 2007; Soldánová et al. 2012). Australapatemon burti has a complex life cycle with three larval stages, two of which (sporocyst and cercaria) use several species of freshwater snails, and the third stage (metacercaria) use non-specific host hirudineans (Dubois 1968; Davies & Ostrowski de Núñez 2012; Blasco- Costa et al. 2016). Adult flukes are parasitic in the intenstines of various waterfowl species, such as ducks and swans (Drago et al. 2007; Hernández-Mena et al. 2014). Currently, the molecular data on this parasite species includes only nucleotide sequences of four adult specimens from Mexico (Hernández-Mena et al. 2014). Their hosts were Mexican duck, Anas diazi Ridgway, American Wigeon, Anas americana Gmelin, Cinnamon Teal, Anas cyanoptera Vieillot, and Ruddy Duck, Oxyura jamaicensis (Gmelin) (Anserformes: Anatidae). We performed the molecular study of a broad sample of lymnaeid snails from across Europe and Russia (216 specimens belonging to 12 species) based on amplification and sequencing the mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (COI) gene and the ribosomal internal transcribed spacer 2 (ITS2) region. The DNA extraction, PCR amplification and sequencing were performed using the standard protocol for lymnaeid snails that has been already described in detail (Vinarski et al. 2016). During analysis of a total DNA, which was extracted from an individual snail, we obtained the COI sequence corresponding to its own mtDNA and the ITS2 sequence (340-bp long) of a trematode cercaria. The nucleotide sequences of both the parasite and the host snail were identified using the Basic Local Alignment Search Tool, BLAST (Johnson et al. 2008). An alignment of ITS2 sequences (ClustalW algorithm) and the neighbor joining (NJ) cluster analysis of digenean taxa were conducted in MEGA6 (Tamura et al. 2013). Australapatemon burti (Miller, 1923) Parasitic stage. cercaria (ITS2 sequence: NCBI’s Genbank acc. no. KU950451). Host. Radix labiata (Rossmaessler) (voucher no. MLym-116 in RMBH; COI sequence: NCBI’s Genbank acc. no. KU950449). Location. Slovakia: Low Tatras, near Vihodna, 49°03'07" N, 19°54'56" E, 740 m alt., trout pond, 10.vii.2013, S. Sokolova leg. Remarks. Accordance between our ITS2 sequence of A. burti cercaria from Slovakia and the sequence of adult fluke from a Mexican duck specimen is 100% (Figure 1). According to recent works, Lymnaea stagnalis (Linnaeus), Stagnicola palustris (Müller), Radix auricularia (Linnaeus), Radix peregra (Müller), Radix ovata (Draparnaud) and Bathyomphalus contortus (Linnaeus) are listed as host snail taxa for A. burti in Europe (Faltýnková et al. 2007, 2016; Soldánová et al. 2012). However, R. peregra and R. ovata are invalid nominal taxa (Schniebs et al. 2013, 2015). The snail specimens, which were identified under these names, may actually belong to at least four different but relatively morphologically similar biological species: R. labiata, Radix ampla (Hartmann), Radix lagotis (Schrank) and Radix balthica (Linnaeus) (Schniebs et al. 2013, 2015). Here we confirmed that R. labiata is a host of A. burti cercariae in Europe using the molecular approach to both the parasite and the host for the first time.