A new species of Cruzia (Ascaridida; Kathlanidae) parasitizing Salvator merianae (Squamata, Teiidae) from the Atlantic forest in Brazil

Cruzia lauroi sp. nov. is described from Salvator merianae (Duméril & Bibron, 1839) (Squamata; Teiidae). The new species differs from all previously described species through several morphological characteristics: number of tooth like structures per row in the inner pharynx; and presence of unpaired papillae on the anterior border of the cloacal aperture. However, Cruzia lauroi sp. nov. is closest to C. tentaculata (Rudolphi, 1819), through having similar distribution of male caudal papillae, unpaired pre-cloacal papillae and females with an pre-equatorial vulva. Cruzia lauroi sp. nov. differs from C. tentaculata regarding smaller total body length of individuals, higher number of tooth like structures per row in the pharynx, greater size of diverticulum, smaller size of spicules and a more anterior vulva than in C. tentaculata; and the males do not have caudal alae. Cruzia mazza, C. travassosia, C. mexicana and C. testudines were considered to be species inquirendae, because their descriptions need more detailed taxonomic studies.


Materials and Methods
The nematodes were collected from the large intestine of one specimen of S. merianae that was found dead in the municipality of Juiz de Fora (21º76' S; 43º21' W), state of Minas Gerais, Brazil. This lizard was identified based on Peters et al. (1986) and was deposited in the Coleção Herpetologica da Universidade Federal de Juiz de Fora -Repteis (CHUFJF -Repteis 1488), Universidade Federal de Juiz de Fora, state of Minas Gerais, Brazil.
Living parasites were fixed in 4% hot formalin and were kept in this for 15 days. After this period, they were conditioned in 70°GL ethanol for morphological studies. For species identification, 20 adult nematodes were separated for analysis. The specimens were clarified in Amann's lactophenol, mounted on temporary slides and analyzed under an Olympus BX-41 microscope equipped with drawing tube and micrometric ocular lens, in the Laboratorio de Helmintos Parasitos de Vertebrados of the Instituto Oswaldo Cruz, FIOCRUZ, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. All measurements are given in micrometers as ranges.
The specimens were identified to genus level in accordance with Chabaud (1978). The identification key of species of Cruzia was elaborated from the original descriptions of the species of this genus or studies of revision of these species. Holotype, allotype and paratypes were deposited in the Helminthological Collection of the Instituto Oswaldo Cruz (CHIOC), FIOCRUZ, RJ, Brazil.

Description
Cruzia lauroi sp. nov. (Figure 1) General morphology. The parasites are long, straight and thick. The mouth is surrounded by three well-formed lips ( Figure 1B). The shape of the lips is pyramidal, with triangular spaces left between each of them ( Figure 1B). The dorsal lip has a pair of lateral papillae, and the two latero-ventral lips have only one papilla and one amphid on each ( Figure 1B). One pair of tiny tooth like structures is located at the inner margin of each lip ( Figure 1B). The pharynx is lined with a cuticle that has three columns with two parallel lines of tooth like structures each, that look like a saw, which project into the lumen ( Figures 1A, B). The intestinal diverticulum extends anteriorly beyond the esophageal bulb ( Figure 1A). Lateral alae are absent.

Discussion
The new species was assigned to the genus Cruzia because of the following morphological characteristics. The anterior end shows an oral aperture surrounded by three lips: on the dorsal lip, there is a pair of lateral papillae; and on the latero-ventral lips, one lateral papilla on each. There is one pair of tooth like structures located at the inner margin of each lip. The pharynx shows three columns with small tooth like structures, like a saw, which projects inwards and into the lumen. The intestinal diverticulum is prominent: it projects anteriorly and goes beyond the esophageal bulb. In males, the caudal region presents symmetrically located sessile papillae, a triangular gubernaculum and two spicules that are similar to each other and do not have a cloacal sucker.
Cruzia cameroni Wolfgang, 1951, C. tentaculata (Rudolphi, 1819 and C. tropidodipsi Ubelaker & Younus, 1965, present variation in the number of teeth per row of the pharynx that is close to that of Cruzia lauroi sp. nov. (Wolfgang, 1951;Ubelaker & Younus, 1965;Adnet et al., 2009) (Table 1). However, Cruzia lauroi sp. nov. differs from C. cameroni and C. tropidodipsi in that these last two species do not have an unpaired papilla on the anterior border of the cloacal lip; and in relation to the position of the vulva, which in Cruzia lauroi sp. nov. is pre-cloacal ( Table 1).
Cruzia lauroi sp. nov. differs from C. tentaculata in that the individuals of the new species have shorter body length, higher number of toothlike structures per row of the pharynx, greater size of diverticulum in comparison with the size of the esophagus, smaller absolute size of spicules and a more anterior vulva than in C. tentaculata; and the males do not have caudal alae (Table 2).
Braz J Vet Parasitol 2020; 29(1): e018519 6/10  tooth like structures is unknown, the description needs more graphic representation of taxonomic structures, the information about type material is non-existent and further details on the type locality were not reported (Khalil & Vogelsang, 1932). In relation to Cruzia mexicana, a parasite from an unspecified species of lizard in Mexico, the number of tooth like structures in the pharynx was not informed and the information about type material is non-existent (Khalil, 1927). Cruzia testudinis, which occurs in Terrapene carolina (Linnaeus, 1758) (Testudines, Emydidae) in the USA, was poorly described, since the number of tooth like structures in the pharynx is unknown and the graphical representation of the species is non-existent (Hardwood, 1932). Therefore, we prefer to consider these species as species inquirendae.