New species of Serpinema (Nematoda: Camallanidae) from the scorpion mud turtle Kinosternon scorpioides (Testudines: Kinosternidae) from eastern Amazon, Brazil

Abstract

The genus Serpinema Yeh, 1960 allocates parasitic nematodes of freshwater turtles distributed across the Oriental, Neotropical, and Palearctic regions. Five of 10 valid species of the genus Serpinema occur in the Neotropical region, and three have been recorded parasitizing Kinosternon scorpioides Linnaeus, 1766. In the present work, we describe a new species of Serpinema, a gastrointestinal parasite of K. scorpioides from the Brazilian Amazon, using light and scanning electron microscopy. Serpinema pelliculatus n. sp. differs from other species of the genus by the number and distribution of caudal papillae and spicule morphology. The new species is the seventh recorded for the Neotropical region.

Keywords

• Camallanidae
• Serpinema
• Kinosternon scorpioides
• Nematodes
• Taxonomy
• Neotropical region