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Aspidogastrea

Klaus Rohde
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Micrograph of Rugogaster hyrdolagiMicrographs of MulticalyxMicrograph of Multicalyx
taxon links [down<--]Platyhelminthes Interpreting the tree
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This tree diagram shows the relationships between several groups of organisms.

The root of the current tree connects the organisms featured in this tree to their containing group and the rest of the Tree of Life. The basal branching point in the tree represents the ancestor of the other groups in the tree. This ancestor diversified over time into several descendent subgroups, which are represented as internal nodes and terminal taxa to the right.

example of a tree diagram

You can click on the root to travel down the Tree of Life all the way to the root of all Life, and you can click on the names of descendent subgroups to travel up the Tree of Life all the way to individual species.

For more information on ToL tree formatting, please see Interpreting the Tree or Classification. To learn more about phylogenetic trees, please visit our Phylogenetic Biology pages.

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(Based on Rohde, 2001)
Containing group: Platyhelminthes

Introduction

The Aspidogastrea is a small group of flukes comprising about 80 species. It belongs to the Trematoda, which comprises the two subclasses Aspidogastrea and Digenea. Species range in length from approximately one mm to several cm. They are parasites of freshwater and marine molluscs and vertebrates (cartilaginous and bony fishes and turtles). Maturation may occur in the mollusc or vertebrate host. None of the species has any economic importance, but the group is of very great interest to biologists because it has several characters which appear to be archaic. For example, the hosts of aspidogastreans include chondrichthyan fishes (sharks, rays and chimaeras), a group that is 450 million years old, whereas the sister group of the aspidogastreans, the digeneans, are known from teleost fishes (210 million years old) as well as from various "higher" vertebrates; very few species have invaded chondrichthyans secondarily.

Aspidogastreans have a nervous system of extraordinary complexity, greater than that of related free-living forms, and - likewise - they have a very great number of sensory receptors of many different types. Their life cycle is much simpler than that of digenean trematodes, including a mollusc and a facultative or compulsory vertebrate host. There are no multiplicative larval stages in the mollusc host, as known from all digenean trematodes. Furthermore, host specificity of most aspidogastreans is very low, i.e., they infect a wide range of hosts, whereas a typical digenean trematode is restricted to few species (at least of molluscs). Aspidogastreans may survive for many days or even weeks outside a host in simple media (water, saline solution). All this has led to the suggestions that aspidogastreans are archaic trematodes, not yet well adapted to specific hosts, which have given rise to the more "advanced" digenean trematodes, and that the complex life cycles of digenean trematodes have evolved from the simple ones of aspidogastreans (Rohde, 1972, further references therein).

Characteristics

Shared characteristics of the group are a large ventral disc with a large number of small alveoli (suckerlets) (Fig. 1, see also Structure of the juvenile and adult) or a row of suckers and a tegument with short protrusions, so-called microtubercles.

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Figure 1. Whole mount of Multicotyle purvisi (redrawn from Rohde, 1972).

Larvae have a posterior sucker and in some species a short posterior appendage; they either possess a number of ciliated patches, or they are non-ciliated (Fig.2), see Structure of the larvae page.

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Figure 2. Larva of Lobatostoma manteri (redrawn from Rohde, 1973a).

Most studies deal with taxonomy and light as well as electron-microscopic structure. Embryology and development has been studied in few species. Host specificity is usually low, and several species were shown to be able to survive for long periods outside the host (see Host specificity and survival outside the host). Little is known on the effects on the host. The life cycles of several species are known.

The Families of the Aspidogastrea

Gibson (1987) and Rohde (2001) distinguish four families of Aspidogastrea:

Discussion of Phylogenetic Relationships

The tree presented here is a preliminary one and must be confirmed by DNA studies. It shows four families, the Aspidogastridae infecting teleosts and turtles, and the Stichocotylidae, Multicalycidae and Rugogastridae infecting chondrichthyans (holocephalans and elasmobranchs). A synapomorphy for all Aspidogastrea is the presence of an adhesive disc, a synapomorphy of the Aspidogastridae is an adhesive disc which is subdivided into three or four rows of alveoli, a synapomorphy of the other three families is an adhesive disc consisting of a single longitudinal row of suckers, rugae or deep alveoli. An adhesive disc consisting of a row of suckers is apomorphic for the Stichocotylidae, an adhesive disc consisting of a single row of deep alveoli is apomorphic for the Multicalycidae, and an adhesive disc consisting of rugae is apomorphic for the Rugogastridae. The plesiomorphic state within the Aspidogastrea is likely to be a posterior, undivided sucker as found in larval aspidogastreans and digeneans.

     ========= Aspidogastridae (hosts:Teleostei, Chelonia)
     |
     |  ====== Multicalycidae (hosts:Elasmobranchii, Holocephali) 
=====|  |
     ===|===== Rugogastridae (hosts:Holocephali)  
        |
        ====== Stichocotylidae (hosts:Elasmobranchii) 

The four families of aspidogastreans are also recognized by Gibson (1987) and Rohde (2001). Gibson (1987, also Gibson and Chinabut 1984) further recognized two orders, the Aspidogastrida with the single family Aspidogastridae, and the Stichocotylida including the Stichocotylidae, Multicalycidae and Rugogastridae. However, similarities between species of these two orders are so great that distinction at the level of orders does not seem justified.

The sister group of the Aspidogastrea is the Digenea, both comprising the Trematoda. Synapomorphies of the trematodes are presence of a Laurer's canal, a posterior sucker (transformed to an adhesive disc in the Aspidogastrea), and life cycles involving molluscs and vertebrates. DNA studies have consistently supported this sister group relationship. The question of whether vertebrates or molluscs are the original hosts of the trematodes, has not been resolved (see discussion in Rohde 2001).

Other Names for Aspidogastrea

References

Key References

Gibson, D. I. (1987). Questions in digenean systematics and evolution. Parasitology 95, 429-460.

Gibson, D. I. and Chinabut, S. (1984). Rohdella siamensis gen. et sp. nov. (Aspidogastridae: Rohdellinae subfam. nov.) from freshwater fishes in Thailand, with a reorganization of the classification of the subclass Aspidogastrea. Parasitology 88, 383-393.

Littlewood, D.T.J., Rohde, K. and Clough, K.A. (1999). The interrelationships of all major groups of Platyhelminthes: phylogenetic evidence from morphology and molecules. Biological Journal of the Linnean Society 66, 75-114.

Littlewood, D.T.J., Rohde, K., Bray, R.A. and Herniou, E.A.(1999). Phylogeny of the Platyhelmimthes and the evolution of parasitism. Biological Journal of the Linnean Society 68. 257-287.

Rohde, K. (1972). The Aspidogastrea, especially Multicotyle purvisi Dawes, 1941. Advances in Parasitology 10, 77 - 151. (Further, older references therein).

Rohde, K. (1994a). The minor groups of parasitic Platyhelminthes. Advances in Parasitology 33, 145 - 234.

Rohde, K. (1994b). The origins of parasitism in the Platyhelminthes. International Journal for Parasitology 24, 1099 - 1115.

Rohde, K. (2001). The Aspidogastrea, an archaic group of Platyhelminthes.In: Interrelationships of the Platyhelminthes, pp. 159-167 (eds. Littlewood, D.T.J. and Bray, R.A.). Taylor and Francis, London and New York.

Rohde, K. (2002). Subclass Aspidogastrea Faust @ Tang, 1936. In: Keys to the Trematoda vol.I, pp. 5-14 (eds. Gibson, D.I., Jones, A. and Bray, R.A.). CABI Publishing and the Natural History Museum, Wallingford, Oxon.

Other References

Adamczyk, L. H. (1972). [Aspidogaster conchicola Baer, 1827, a trematode species new for Poland]. Wszechswiat 2, 36-37 (In Polish).

Agrawal, S. C. and Sharma, S. K. (1990). On Paraaspidogasterinae sub. f. nov., (Trematoda: Aspidogasteridae Poche, 1907) from a fish Tor tor (Ham). Indian Journal of Helminthology 42, 17-20.

Allison, V. F., Ubelaker, J. E. and Martin, J. H. (1972). Comparative study of the fine morphology of sensory receptors in Aspidogaster conchicola and Cotylaspis insignis. Proceedings of the 30th Annual EMSA Meeting 150-151.

Amato, J.F.R. and Pereira, J.Jr. (1995). A new species of Rugogaster (Aspidobothrea: Rugogastridae) parasite of the elephant fish, Callorhinchus callorhinchi (Callorhinchidae), from the estuary of the la Plata river, coasts of Uruguay and Argentina. Revista Brasiliera de Parasitologia Veterinaria 4, 1- 7.

Bailey, H. H. and Tompkin, S. S. (1971). Ultrastructure of the integument of Aspidogaster conchicola. Journal of Parasitology 57, 848-854.

Bakker, K. E. and Davids, C. (1973). Notes on the life history of Aspidogaster conchicola Baer, 1826 (Trematoda; Aspidogastridae). Journal of Helminthology 47, 269-276.

Bakker, K. E. and Diegenbach, P. C. (1973). The ultrastructure of spermatozoa of Aspidogaster conchicola Baer, 1826 (Aspidogastridae, Trematoda). Netherlands Journal of Zoology 23, 345-346.

Bakker, K. E. and Diegenbach, P. C. (1974). The structure of the opisthaptor of Aspidogaster conchicola Baer, 1826 (Aspidogastridae, Trematoda). Netherlands Journal of Zoology 24, 162-170.

Baverstock, P. R., Fielke, R., Johnson, A. M., Bray, R. A. and Beveridge, I. (1991). Conflicting phylogenetic hypotheses for the parasitic Platyhelminthes tested by partial sequencing of 18S ribosomal RNA. International Journal for Parasitology 21, 329-339.

Bazitov, A. A. (1984). [Taxonomic relations of parasitic Platyhelminthes]. Zoologicheskij Zhurnal 63, 818-827 (In Russian).

Blair, D. (in press). Parasitic flatworms and the phylogenetic position of the Aspidobothrea inferred from DNA sequence data. International Journal for Parasitology

Bray, R. A. (1984). Some helminth parasites of marine fishes and cephalopods of South Africa: Aspidogastrea and the digenean families Bucephalidae, Haplosplanchnidae, Mesometridae and Fellodistomidae. Journal of Natural History 18, 271-292.

Brooks, D. R. (1982). Higher level classification of parasitic platyhelminths and fundamentals of cestode classification. In "Parasites: their world and ours", (D. F. Mettrick and S. S. Desser, eds). Elsevier Biomedical Press, pp. 189-193.

Brooks, D. R. (1989a). A summary of the database pertaining to the phylogeny of the major groups of parasitic platyhelminths, with a revised classification. Canadian Journal of Zoology 67, 714-720.

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Bychowskaya-Pavlovskaya, I. E. (1987). [Class Aspidogastrea]. In "Opredelitel' Parazitov Presnovoduykh Ryb Fauny SSSR", vol. 2 Paraziticheskie Mnogokletochnye (part 2), (O. N. Bauer, ed.). Nauka, Leningrad, pp. 76-78 (In Russian).

Dandotia, M. R. and Bhadauria, S. (1977). Trematode parasites of fresh water fishes of Gwalior: a new species of the genus Aspidogaster Baer, 1827. All-India Symposium on helminthology, Srinagar, Kashmir, 12.

Duobinis-Gray, L. F., Urban, E. A., Sickel, J. B., Owen, D. A. and Maddox, W. E. (1991). Aspidogastrid (Trematoda) parasites of unionid (Bivalvia) molluscs in Kentucky Lake. Journal of the Helminthological Society of Washington 58, 167-170.

Ehlers, U. (1985). "Das phylogenetische System der Plathelminthes", Gustav Fischer, Stuttgart, New York.

Ehlers, U. (1986). Comments on a phylogenetic system of the Platyhelminthes. Hydrobiologia 132, 1-12.

Ferguson, M. A., Cribb, T.H. and Smales,,L.R. (1999). Life cycle and biology of Sychnocotyle khola n.g., n.sp. (Trematoda, Aspidogastrea) in Emydura macquarii (Pleurodira: Chelidae) from southern Queensland, Australia. Systematic Parasitology 43, 41-48.

Fredericksen, D. W. (1972). Morphology and taxonomy of Cotylogaster occidentalis (Trematoda: Aspidogastrae). Journal of Parasitology 58, 1110-1116.

Fredericksen, D. W. (1973). Biology of aspidobothrian trematodes. Dissertation Abstracts International 34B, 3566.

Fredericksen, D. W. (1978). The fine structure and phylogenetic position of the cotylocidium larva of Cotylogaster occidentalis Nickerson 1902 (Trematoda: Aspidogastridae). Journal of Parasitology 64, 961-976.

Fredericksen, D. W. (1980). Development of Cotylogaster occidentalis Nickerson 1902 (Trematoda: Aspidogastridae) with observations on the growth of the ventral disc in Aspidogaster conchicola V. Baer 1827. Journal of Parasitology 66, 973-984.

Gentner, H. W. (1971). Notes on the biology of Aspidogaster conchicola and Cotylaspis insignis. Zeitschrift für Parasitenkunde 35, 263-269.

Gibson, D. I. (1987). Questions in digenean systematics and evolution. Parasitology 95, 429-460.

Gibson, D. I. and Chinabut, S. (1984). Rohdella siamensis gen. et sp. nov. (Aspidogastridae: Rohdellinae subfam. nov.) from freshwater fishes in Thailand, with a reorganization of the classification of the subclass Aspidogastrea. Parasitology 88, 383-393.

Gomes, D. C. and Fabio, S. P. d. (1976). Ocorrência de Lobatostoma ringens (Linton, 1905) no Brasil. Atas da Sociedade de Biologia do Rio de Janeiro 18, 83-85.

Halton, D. W. (1972). Ultrastructure of the alimentary tract of Aspidogaster conchicola (Trematoda: Aspidogastrea). Journal of Parasitology 58, 455-467.

Halton, D. W. and Lyness, R. A. W. (1971). Ultrastructure of the tegument and associated structures of Aspidogaster conchicola (Trematoda: Aspidogastrea). Journal of Parasitology 57, 1198-1210.

Hathaway, R. P. (1971). The fine structure of the trematode Aspidogaster conchicola von Baer, 1827. Dissertation Abstracts International 31B, 7687.

Hathaway, R. P. (1972a). Some observations on the ultrastructure of the female reproductive system of Aspidogaster conchicola (Trematoda: Aspidobothria). Journal of the Colorado-Wyoming Academy of Science 7, 114.

Hathaway, R. P. (1972b). The fine structure of the cecal epithelium of the trematode Aspidogaster conchicola von Baer, 1827. Proceedings of the Helminthological Society of Washington 39, 101-107.

Hathaway, R. P. (1974). The fine structure and development of spermatozoa of the trematode Aspidogaster conchicola von Baer, 1827. Journal of the Colorado-Wyoming Academy of Science 7, 70-71.

Hathaway, R. P. (1979). The morphology of crystalline inclusions in primary oocytes of Aspidogaster conchicola von Baer, 1827 (Trematoda: Aspidobothria). Proceedings of the Helminthological Society of Washington 46, 201-206.

Hendrix, S. S. and Overstreet, R. M. (1977). Marine aspidogastrids (Trematoda) from fishes in the northern Gulf of Mexico. Journal of Parasitology 63, 810-817.

Hendrix, S. S. and Overstreet, R. M. (1983). Evaluation of the status of Texanocotyle pogoniae and Laterocotyle padreinsulae (Trematoda: Aspidogastridae). Journal of Parasitology 69, 431-432.

Hendrix, S.S. and Short, R.B. (1965). Aspidogastrids from Northeastern Gulf of Mexico river drainages. Journal of Parasitology 51, 561-569.

Hendrix, S. S. and Short, R. B. (1972). The juvenile of Lophotaspis interiora Ward and Hopkins, 1931 (Trematoda: Aspidobothria). Journal of Parasitology 58, 63-67.

Hendrix, S. S., Vidrine, M. F. and Hartenstine, R. H. (1985). A list of records of freshwater aspidogastrids (Trematoda) and their hosts in North America. Proceedings of the Helminthological Society of Washington 52, 289-296.

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Huehner, M. K. and Etges, F. J. (1971). A new gastropod host for Aspidogaster conchicola. Journal of Parasitology 57, 1225.

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Rohde, K. (1994 b). The origins of parasitism in the Platyhelminthes. International Journal for Parasitology 24, 1099 - 1115.

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Rohde, K. (2001). Protonephridia as phylogenetic characters. In: Interrelationships of the Platyhelminthes, pp. 203-216 (eds. Littlewood, D.T.J. and Bray, R.A.). Taylor and Francis, London and New York.

Rohde, K. (2002). Subclass Aspidogastrea Faust & Tang, 1936. In: Keys to the Trematoda vol.I, pp. 5-14 (eds. Gibson, D.I., Jones, A. and Bray, R.A.). CABI Publishing and the Natural History Museum, Wallingford, Oxon.

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Rohde, K., Hefford, C., Ellis, J., Johnson, A. M., Baverstock, P. R., Watson, N. A. and Dittmann, S. (1993). Contributions to the phylogeny of Playtyhelminthes based on partial sequencing of 18S ribosomal DNA. International Journal for Parasitology 23, 725-735.

Rohde, K., Johnson, A.M., Baverstock, P.R. and Watson, N.A. (1995). Aspectts of the phylogeny of Platyhelminthes based on 18S ribosomal DNA and protonephridial ultrastructure. Hydrobiologia 305, 27-35.

Rohde, K. and Watson, N. (1989a). Sense receptors in Lobatostoma manteri (Trematoda, Aspidogastrea). International Journal for Parasitology 19, 847-858.

Rohde, K. and Watson, N. (1989b). Ultrastructure of the marginal glands of Lobatostoma manteri (Trematoda, Aspidogastrea). Zoologischer Anzeiger 223, 301-310.

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Rohde, K., Watson, N. A. and Cribb, T. (1991). Ultrastructure of sperm and spermatogenesis of Lobatostoma manteri (Trematoda, Aspidogastrea). International Journal for Parasitology 21, 409-419.

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Information on the Internet

Title Illustrations
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Micrograph of Rugogaster hyrdolagi
Scientific Name Rugogaster hyrdolagi
Creator Shirley Dawson
Specimen Condition Dead Specimen
Image Use creative commons This media file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License - Version 3.0.
Copyright © 1998 Klaus Rohde
Micrographs of Multicalyx
Scientific Name Multicalyx
Creator Shirley Dawson
Specimen Condition Dead Specimen
Image Use creative commons This media file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License - Version 3.0.
Copyright © 1998 Klaus Rohde
Micrograph of Multicalyx
Scientific Name Multicalyx elegans (top), Multicalyx sp. (bottom))
Creator Shirley Dawson
Specimen Condition Dead Specimen
Image Use creative commons This media file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License - Version 3.0.
Copyright © 1998 Klaus Rohde
About This Page
I would like to thank the following people for their assistance: All images copyright © Rohde, 1998

Klaus Rohde
University of New England, Armidale, New South Wales, Australia

Correspondence regarding this page should be directed to Klaus Rohde at

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