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Scanning Electron Microscopy Reveals New Ultrastructural Features in Metacercariae of Clinostomum cutaneum (Digenea: Clinostomidae) Infecting Oreochromis niloticus (Actinopterygii: Cichlidae) in Kenya
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Clinostomum is a genus of parasitic trematodes found worldwide, infecting a wide range of hosts, including freshwater fishes, snails, birds and occasionally humans. In this study, clinostomid metacercariae were collected from Nile tilapia raised in fish farms in the Upper Tana River region, Kenya. The prevalence of infection was 17.2%, with metacercariae infecting the skin, gills and buccal cavity of the fish. Using light microscopy, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and molecular methods targeting both nuclear ribosomal (ITS1, 5.8S, ITS2) and mitochondrial (COI) regions, the metacercariae were identified as C. cutaneum, C. phalacrocoracis, C. tilapiae and Euclinostomum heterostomum. The three species of Clinostomum have previously been reported to infect fish or piscivorous birds in Kenya, while this is the first report of E. heterostomum in this country. SEM analysis revealed new ultrastructural features of C. cutaneum, including an excretory pore surrounded by minute spiny papillae, an everted cirrus and dome-shaped papillae on the tegumental area around the genital pore. The cirrus lacked basal papillae, showing morphological variation between the adult and metacercarial stages. Our study, therefore, provides new insights into the phenotypic identification of flukes that may be pathogenic to fishes and humans and, therefore, of scientific and practical importance.
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RBINS Staff Publications 2025
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Going Dutch: Invasion pathways and current European distribution of non-native land flatworm species belonging to Geoplaninae and Bipaliinae with focus on the Netherlands
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Non-native land flatworms can have a negative impact on local ecosystems, due to their voracious appetites for earthworms or snails. Accurate knowledge on the distribution of non-native populations of land flatworms is necessary to design effective policy to control their spread across Europe. The aim of this study is to address the spatiotemporal distribution of selected species of non-native land flatworms (Geoplaninae and Bipaliinae) in the Netherlands, and provide their current distribution and introduction pathways in a pan-European perspective. Specimens of Obama spp., Bipalium kewense and Diversibipalium multilineatum were reported across selected Dutch gardens, greenhouses, plant nurseries or garden centers. European distribution of these planarians species was reconstructed using previously published datasets and from records available on GBIF. Morphological species identification was supported by DNA barcoding using a portion of the 28S rDNA marker. Introduction pathways were addressed via haplotype networks based on COI mtDNA. In total, 27 specimens of non-native land flatworms were collected in the Netherlands. Their different spatiotemporal distribution pattern indicates differences in tolerance to environmental conditions in Northern Europe between B. kewense restricted to greenhouses and D. multilineatum found in gardens. Generally, an increasing trend in the number of records of Obama nungara is observed in the Netherlands and in Europe, with the highest number of records per country reported in France (1.428) followed by the Netherlands (149) and Italy (64). The high numbers of France are, however, artificial and originate from communication towards the public, which has not been as pronounced in other European countries. Genetic analyses suggest multiple introductions of O. nungara in Europe. The combination of morphological and molecular species identification revealed the presence of Obama anthropophila being the first record of this species outside its native range in Brazil. Our results further support the established status of these species in Europe and highlight the importance of citizen scientists in non-native species research.
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RBINS Staff Publications 2025
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Unveiling hidden species diversity within Southern Ocean Iphimediidae (Crustacea, Amphipoda) through DNA and 3D-geometric morphometrics, with the description of 10 new species
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The Antarctic shelf benthos is threatened by climate-related environmental changes and anthropogenic stressors. A baseline knowledge of biodiversity and species distribution ranges is essential for effective monitoring and conservation. Here, we integrate DNA-based species delimitation methods with morphological analyses to explore species diversity within Antarctic Iphimediidae. Our results reveal that ten nominal species are complexes of multiple species, most of which can be distinguished by small but consistent morphological differences. We formally describe ten of these new species: Stegopanoploea brevidentata sp. nov., Maxilliphimedia acutilobata sp. nov., Maxilliphimedia oliveri sp. nov., Echiniphimedia spinosior sp. nov., Echiniphimedia maxima sp. nov., Iphimediella longidentata sp. nov., Iphimediella brachyodonta sp. nov., Iphimediella longilobata sp. nov., Labriphimedia adeliae sp. nov., and Labriphimedia anneninae sp. nov. Most previously recorded circum-Antarctic iphimediid species are found to consist of regionally distributed species. Furthermore, we apply 3D-geometric morphometrics on the Gnathiphimedia sexdentata complex to investigate whether ‘cryptic’ species can be differentiated by variation in continuous morphological traits. This method provides additional diagnostic characters for the morphological identification of two G. sexdentata clades. This integrative taxonomy study increases the number of nominal Antarctic iphimediid species from 39 to 49, with 14 additional putative species requiring further study for formal description.
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RBINS Staff Publications 2025
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On the arachnofauna of the Jean Massart botanical garden (Brussels-Capital Region, Belgium)
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RBINS Staff Publications 2022 OA
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Two new species of Spiniphiline (Gastropoda: Cephalaspidea) from the Middle and Eastern Atlantic Ocean
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RBINS Staff Publications 2021
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A Review of Species in Fusceulima (Gastropoda: Eulimidae) from the NE Atlantic Ocean and the Western Mediterranean Sea with Illustration of Key Type Specimens
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RBINS Staff Publications 2021
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Spatiotemporal Variability in Phytoplankton Size Class Modulated by Summer Monsoon Wind Forcing in the Central Arabian Sea
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RBINS Staff Publications 2024
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Spatiotemporal Dynamics of Suspended Particulate Matter in Water Environments: A Review
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RBINS Staff Publications 2024
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Rediscovery of Camponotus herculeanus (Linnaeus, 1758) in Belgium (Hymenoptera: Formicidae)
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Camponotus herculeanus (Linnaeus, 1758) was rediscovered in Belgium near Ouren. Throughout the spring and summer of 2023, workers were collected on multiple occasions in a Picea abies stand near the Belgian-German boarder.
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RBINS Staff Publications 2024
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Estimation of Mud and Sand Fractions and Total Concentration From Coupled Optical‐Acoustic Sensors
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RBINS Staff Publications 2024