The helminth endoparasites of many European amphibian species are often known exclusively from morphological descriptions. A molecular library of DNA sequence data linked to morphological identifications is still in its infancy. In this paper, we aim to contribute to such a library on the smooth newt Lissotriton vulgaris, the intermediate and definitive host of 31 helminth parasites, according to evidence published so far. Newts (n = 69) were collected at two study sites in western Germany and examined for the presence of helminths. A total of five helminth species were detected in 56 (81%) of the newts, but only one or two species infected a single host. Four out of five helminth species were identified morphologically and based on DNA sequences as Parastrigea robusta (metacercariae), Oswaldocruzia filiformis, Megalobatrachonema terdentatum (adults and larvae) and Cosmocerca longicauda, and the corresponding sequences were provided subsequently. Oswaldocruzia molgeta was confirmed to be a junior synonym of O. filiformis. Molecular data on a fifth species (a cosmocercid nematode) that could not be identified at species level were added to GenBank. These findings increased the molecular library on morphologically identified smooth newt parasites significantly, from 12 to 15 entries.

• MeSH
• Helminths anatomy & histology   classification   genetics   isolation & purification   MeSH
• Phylogeny MeSH
• Microscopy MeSH
• Prevalence MeSH
• Salamandridae parasitology   MeSH
• Animals MeSH
• Check Tag
• Animals MeSH
• Publication type
• Journal Article MeSH
• Geographicals
• Germany MeSH

Strigeidae Railliet, 1919 are digenean parasites of birds and mammals that are characteristic by their cup-shaped forebody and bilobed holdfast organ. Despite that the family is taxonomically unsettled, particularly due to a very limited number of visible autapomorphic identification features, molecular phylogenetics have never been applied to analyze the relationships among European members of Strigeidae except for the genus Ichthyocotylurus. Here, we analyze the Strigeidae found during the examination of Czech birds performed from 1962 to 2017, and we provide comparative measurements and host spectra, including prevalence and intensity; we also provide and analyze sequences of four DNA loci of 12 of the Strigeidae species. We suggest the reclassification of Parastrigea robusta Szidat, 1928 as Strigea robusta (Szidat, 1928) Heneberg and Sitko, 2018 comb. n. The genera Strigea Abildgaard, 1790 and Parastrigea Szidat, 1928 appear paraphyletic, and morphological diagnostic features of genera within Strigeini Dubois, 1936 are invalid. The mute swan Cygnus olor hosts two Cotylurus spp., Cotylurus syrius Dubois, 1934 and a second species with molecular identification features shared in part with Cotylurus cornutus (Rudolphi, 1808) and Cotylurus gallinulae Lutz, 1928. New host records are provided for seven species. Analyses of non-European genera of the Strigeidae are needed to provide an updated key to Strigeini.

• MeSH
• Phylogeny MeSH
• Host Specificity MeSH
• Trematode Infections epidemiology   parasitology   veterinary   MeSH
• Bird Diseases epidemiology   parasitology   MeSH
• Prevalence MeSH
• DNA, Protozoan analysis   MeSH
• Protozoan Proteins analysis   MeSH
• Birds * MeSH
• Sequence Analysis, DNA MeSH
• Trematoda anatomy & histology   classification   genetics   physiology   MeSH
• Animals MeSH
• Check Tag
• Animals MeSH
• Publication type
• Journal Article MeSH
• Geographicals
• Czech Republic epidemiology   MeSH

• MeSH
• Trematoda physiology   classification   growth & development   MeSH
• Geographicals
• Czechoslovakia MeSH