New record and phylogenetic assessment of(Braun, 1902) (Digenea: Psilostomidae), a parasite of Eurasian CootLinnaeus, 1758 (Aves: Rallidae).

Abstract

Phylogenetic studies of aberrant species are of considerable scientific interest because their taxonomic rank in traditional systems based on morphological characters is not infrequently overestimated.(Braun, ) is one of the few psilostomid digeneans devoid of the pharynx. This is considered a sufficient basis for assigning it and similar species to the subfamily Apopharynginae. We foundinLinnaeus, 1758 from Belarus, described it morphologically, and genotyped it by the 28S rRNA gene and the ITS2 region. It is the first molecular data onand the first record of this digenean species in Belarus. The phylogenetic analysis based on partial sequences of the 28S rRNA gene showed thatis closely related to thespp. (Sphaeridiotrematinae). However, this phylogenetic inference has not received yet support with data on the ITS2 region.