Host Range and Phylogenetic Position of <i>Acipenserobdella volgensis</i> (Zykoff, 1904) (Hirudinea: Piscicolidae) with a Global Checklist of Bivalve-Associated Fish Leeches
Ivan N. Bolotov,
Vadim V. Maryinsky,
Dmitry M. Palatov,
Alexander V. Kondakov,
Tatyana A. Eliseeva,
Ekaterina S. Konopleva,
Mikhail Y. Gofarov,
Ilya V. Vikhrev,
Yulia V. Bespalaya
Affiliations
Ivan N. Bolotov
N. Laverov Federal Center for Integrated Arctic Research, the Ural Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Northern Dvina Emb. 23, 163069 Arkhangelsk, Russia
Vadim V. Maryinsky
Department of General Ecology and Hydrobiology, M.V. Lomonosov Moscow State University, 119234 Moscow, Russia
Dmitry M. Palatov
Laboratory of Macroecology & Biogeography of Invertebrates, Saint Petersburg State University, 7/9 Universitetskaya Emb., 199034 Saint Petersburg, Russia
Alexander V. Kondakov
N. Laverov Federal Center for Integrated Arctic Research, the Ural Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Northern Dvina Emb. 23, 163069 Arkhangelsk, Russia
Tatyana A. Eliseeva
N. Laverov Federal Center for Integrated Arctic Research, the Ural Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Northern Dvina Emb. 23, 163069 Arkhangelsk, Russia
Ekaterina S. Konopleva
N. Laverov Federal Center for Integrated Arctic Research, the Ural Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Northern Dvina Emb. 23, 163069 Arkhangelsk, Russia
Mikhail Y. Gofarov
N. Laverov Federal Center for Integrated Arctic Research, the Ural Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Northern Dvina Emb. 23, 163069 Arkhangelsk, Russia
Ilya V. Vikhrev
N. Laverov Federal Center for Integrated Arctic Research, the Ural Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Northern Dvina Emb. 23, 163069 Arkhangelsk, Russia
Yulia V. Bespalaya
N. Laverov Federal Center for Integrated Arctic Research, the Ural Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Northern Dvina Emb. 23, 163069 Arkhangelsk, Russia
The fish leech Acipenserobdella volgensis (Hirudinea: Piscicolidae) is a rare and poorly known freshwater species, which is thought to be an obligate parasite of sturgeons. This leech has a disjunctive range in Europe and Eastern Siberia. Here, we estimate the phylogenetic affinities and host range of A. volgensis using a set of DNA sequences (COI and 18S rRNA gene fragments), field observation data, and a review of the body of literature. Based on a time-calibrated Bayesian phylogeny, we show that the European and Siberian lineages of A. volgensis have been separated since the latest Pliocene (mean age = 2.7 Ma). The analysis of available host records indicates that this leech is characterized by a broader host range as it was collected from fish belonging to four families (Acipenseridae, Cyprinidae, Salmonidae, and Esocidae). Conversely, only a few suitable primary hosts (six sturgeons, one cyprinid, and one salmonid fish) were confirmed by earlier research. Moreover, this leech could be considered a facultative mussel-associated species that uses bivalves (duck mussel Anodonta anatina; Unionidae) as shelter. Globally, three other piscicolid leeches have been recorded from the mantle cavity of bivalve molluscs, that is, the freshwater taxa Caspiobdella fadejewi and Alexandrobdella makhrovi, and the marine species Austrobdella coliumicus.
