title: A new species of blood fluke (Digenea: Spirorchiidae) from the Malayan box turtle, Cuora amboinensis (Cryptodira: Geomydidae) in Thailand.
abstract: Spirhapalum siamensis n. sp. obtained from the heart of the Malayan box turtle, Cuora amboinensis, from western Thailand is described. This blood fluke differs from the 2 previously known species of Spirhapalum in its larger overall body size, constricted mid-body, greater number of pre-ovarian testes, ceca that loop anteriorly from the cecal bifurcation before turning to the posterior, and the relatively smaller size of its ventral sucker. A phylogenetic analysis using molecular characters places the new species in the basal clade of tetrapod blood flukes, more derived than Spirhapalum polesianum, but less derived than Spirorchis spp.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, University of North Dakota, Grand Forks, North Dakota 58202, USA. vasyl.tkach@und.nodak.edu
authors.forename: Vasyl V
authors.initials: VV
authors.lastname: Tkach
authors.forename: Scott D
authors.initials: SD
authors.lastname: Snyder
authors.forename: Jefferson A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Vaughan
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001483:Base Sequence; D018509:DNA, Helminth / Q000737:chemistry / Q000302:isolation & purification; D006321:Heart / Q000469:parasitology; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D010802:Phylogeny; D016415:Sequence Alignment / Q000662:veterinary; D013785:Thailand; D014200:Trematoda / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000145:classification* / Q000235:genetics; D014201:Trematode Infections / Q000469:parasitology / Q000662:veterinary*; D014426:Turtles / Q000469:parasitology*
chemical_list: D018509:DNA, Helminth