A new species of Falcaustra Lane, 1915 (Nematoda: Kathlaniidae) from the Titicaca water frog Telmatobius culeus (Garman) (Anura: Telmatobiidae) in Peru

Santillán S.; Lopez D.; Mondragón-Martínez A.; Martínez-Rojas R.; Cruces C.L.; Chero J.D. · Systematic Parasitology (2025) · DOI: 10.1007/s11230-025-10244-w

Resumen

A new kathlaniid nematode, Falcaustra peruensisn. sp., was described using light and scanning electron microscopy, based on specimens collected from the intestine of the Titicaca water frog, Telmatobius culeus (Garman) (Anura: Telmatobiidae) in Peru. Falcaustra peruensisn. sp. belongs to the Falcaustra group that is characterized by the presence of a pseudosucker. The new species can be easily differentiated from other congeneric species, with the exception of four species, by its papillae pattern. This pattern includes 6 precloacal papillae, 4 adcloacal papillae, 12 postcloacal papillae, plus 1 median papilla. The new species shares similarities with Falcaustra peruensisn. sp. by having the same papillae pattern (6–4–12 + 1) and a pseudosucker, but can be differentiated from F. sanjuanensis by the morphology of the gubernaculum (triangular with a pair of proximal and distal processes in the new species vs triangular without processes in F. sanjuanensis), the proportion of gubernaculum length relative to total body length (1.2–1.24% in the new species vs 1.56–1.71% in F. sanjuanensis), the morphology of the deirids (button-shaped surrounded by a horseshoe-shaped border in the new species vs elongated surrounded by a circular border in F. sanjuanensis) and body size (males 6.14–7.62 mm and females 4.1–6.8 mm in the new species vs males 11.2–13.5 mm and females 10.1–15.5 mm in F. sanjuanensis). Falcaustra peruensisn. sp. represents the fourth nominal species of the genus in Peru and the fourteenth species described in the Neotropical region. © The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature B.V. 2025.

Instituciones: Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos; Universidad Ricardo Palma