Morphological and molecular data reveal a new species of Lueheia (Acanthocephala: Plagiorhynchidae) from Turdus migratorius (Turdidae) in central Mexico and its phylogenetic implications within the family

Members of the genus Lueheia Travassos, 1919, are endoparasites of birds, particularly passerines, throughout the Americas. Adults of Lueheia sp., (Plagiorhynchidae Golvan, 1960; Porrorchinae Golvan, 1956) were recovered from the intestine of the American robin (Turdus migratorius phillipsi Bangs) in Mexico City, and two other species of acanthocephalans identified as Porrorchis nickoli, (Plagiorhynchidae: Porrorchinae) Salgado-Maldonado and Cruz-Reyes, 2002 and Centrorhynchus microcephalus (Bravo-Hollis, 1947) Golvan, 1956 (Centrorhynchidae Van Cleave, 1916), were recovered from the Virginia opossum (Didelphis virginiana Allen) and groove-billed ani (Crotophaga sulcirostris Swainson), respectively in southeastern Mexico. Specimens of three species were sequenced at two molecular markers, the small subunit (SSU) and large subunit (LSU) of the nuclear rDNA and compared with other sequences available in GenBank. Maximum likelihood and Bayesian inference analyses of the combined (LSU + SSU) dataset and each individual dataset revealed that the specimens of Lueheia sp. formed an independent lineage, which is recognized herein as a new species, Lueheia aztecae n. sp., representing the fifth species of the genus in the Americas, and the second in the Nearctic region. The new species can be morphologically distinguished from the other five species in the genus by having a cylindrical proboscis, armed with 24–26 longitudinal rows with 9–10 hooks each. Phylogenetic inference performed with the combined dataset consisting of two genes (LSU + SSU) revealed that Lueheia aztecae n. sp. and P. nickoli belonging to subfamily Porrorchinae, formed two independent lineages, indicating that the subfamily is paraphyletic. Porrorchis nickoli and C. microcephalus formed a clade with other species of the genus Centrorhynchus, suggesting that P. nickoli should be transferred to genus Centrorhynchus, to form C. nickoli n. comb. In addition, we briefly discuss the ecological associations between the members of the families Plagiorhynchidae and Centrorhynchidae.