title: Echinococcus canadensis, E. borealis, and E. intermedius. What's in a name?
abstract: The phylogenetic relationships of the G6, G7, G8, and G10 genotypes of Echinococcus granulosus are well defined, but their taxonomic status is currently unresolved. We apply an evolutionary species concept to infer that the G6 and G7 genotypes represent a single species that is different to both the G8 and G10 genotypes, and that the G8 and G10 genotypes are also on different evolutionary trajectories and, therefore, should be regarded as separate species. The names Echinococcus intermedius, Echinococcus canadensis, and Echinococcus borealis have been previously proposed for these three taxa (G6/7, G10 and G8, respectively) and we argue that it may be appropriate to resurrect these names. The correct delimitation and formal recognition of species of Echinococcus may have important veterinary and public health consequences.
authors.affiliation: School of Veterinary and Life Sciences, Murdoch University, Murdoch, WA, Australia.
authors.forename: Alan J
authors.initials: AJ
authors.lastname: Lymbery
authors.affiliation: Veterinary Microbiology, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, SK, Canada.
authors.forename: Emily J
authors.initials: EJ
authors.lastname: Jenkins
authors.affiliation: Veterinary Microbiology, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, SK, Canada.
authors.forename: Janna M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Schurer
authors.affiliation: School of Veterinary and Life Sciences, Murdoch University, Murdoch, WA, Australia. Electronic address: a.thompson@murdoch.edu.au.
authors.forename: R C Andrew
authors.initials: RC
authors.lastname: Thompson
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002965:Classification; D004446:Echinococcus / Q000145:classification* / Q000235:genetics; D014644:Genetic Variation; D005838:Genotype; D013045:Species Specificity; D009626:Terminology as Topic
keywords: Echinococcus granulosus; camel strain; cervid strain; evolutionary species concept; pig strain; taxonomy