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Introduction of Azygia hwangtsiyui (Trematoda: Azygidae) to Japan with its life cycle information

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 May 2025

T. Waki Open the ORCID record for T. Waki [Opens in a new window] ,
M. Nitta ,
E. Ansai ,
T. Ishikawa ,
Y. Kitazawa ,
T. Hagiwara ,
H. Sekine ,
K. Takano  and
M. Hayashi
T. Waki*
Affiliation:
Faculty of Science, Toho University, 2-2-1 Miyama, Funabashi, Chiba 274-8510, Japan
M. Nitta
Affiliation:
Pathology Division, Nansei Field Station, Fisheries Technology Institute, Japan Fisheries Research and Education Agency, 422 1, Nakatsuhamaura, Minami Ise, Watarai, Mie 516 0193, Japan
E. Ansai
Affiliation:
Faculty of Science, Toho University, 2-2-1 Miyama, Funabashi, Chiba 274-8510, Japan
T. Ishikawa
Affiliation:
College of Bioresource Sciences, Nihon University, 1866 Kameino, Fujisawa, Kanagawa, 252-0880, Japan
Y. Kitazawa
Affiliation:
Ibaraki Nature Museum, 700, Osaki, Bando, Ibaraki 306-0622, Japan
T. Hagiwara
Affiliation:
Global Environmental Forum, 8th Floor Kuramae Intelligent Bldg., 3-17-3 Kuramae, Taito, Tokyo, 111-0051, Japan
H. Sekine
Affiliation:
Faculty of Science, Toho University, 2-2-1 Miyama, Funabashi, Chiba 274-8510, Japan
K. Takano
Affiliation:
Faculty of Science, Toho University, 2-2-1 Miyama, Funabashi, Chiba 274-8510, Japan
M. Hayashi
Affiliation:
Faculty of Science, Toho University, 2-2-1 Miyama, Funabashi, Chiba 274-8510, Japan
*
Corresponding author: T. Waki; Email: [email protected]
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Abstract

In Japan, three trematode species of the genus Azygia have been recorded: A. gotoi, A. perryii, and A. rhinogobii. Here, we report the first detection of A. hwangtsiyui in Japan, identified from the introduced snakehead Channa argus. This trematode was previously known only from the snakeheads in mainland China. Between 2015 and 2024, we sampled snakeheads and snails in Japan, collecting adult trematodes and rediae. Adult trematodes were identified morphologically as A. hwangtsiyui, a determination corroborated by molecular analyses of the COI and 28S rDNA regions. Rediae extracted from the snail Sinotaia quadrata histrica were also identified molecularly as A. hwangtsiyui, indicating the snail acts as an intermediate host. Juvenile trematodes from the short-spined Japanese trident goby Tridentiger brevispinis were also morphologically identified as A. hwangtsiyui, indicating that this goby acts as a paratenic host. Given the snakehead’s introduction to Japan between 1923 and 1924, the absence of records of later introductions, and the presence of both intermediate and paratenic hosts in Japan at that time, A. hwangtsiyui was likely introduced concurrently with the snakehead. As the detection of three COI haplotypes suggests multiple introductions, subsequent introductions via the aquarium trade or other pathways involving the transport of freshwater fish and mollusks from Asia to Japan are also plausible.

Keywords

Freshwaterinvasive specieslife cycle
Type
Research Paper
Information
Journal of Helminthology , Volume 99 , 2025 , e59
Copyright
© The Author(s), 2025. Published by Cambridge University Press

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