Mitochondrial DNA resolution of two new sequences Polyacanthorhynchus echiyensis n. sp. and Polyacanthorhynchus nigerianus n. sp. (Polyacanthocephala: Acanthocephala) in a parentenic host from a tropical River

Acanthocephalan fauna are distributed globally as visceral parasites of vertebrates and arthropods. Morphological description of four known species of the newly described class Polyacanthocephala has been replete with controversies. However, Mitochondrial COI gene of two new cystacanths sequences; Polyacanthorhynchus nigerianus n.sp. (NG1 KC904074) and Polyacanthorhynchus echiyensis n.sp. (NG5 KC904075) infecting some parentenic individuals of Synodontis batensoda in Nigeria were sequenced. The resulting sequences were aligned with 36 other sequences of acanthocephalans representing three widely recognized classes; Archiacanthocephala, Palaeacanthocephala and Eoacanthocephala. The only representative of the new class Polyacanthocephala in the GenBank/NCBI Polyacanthorhynchus caballeroi (DQ089724) formed a common clade with these two new sequences. This study thus supports existence of the new class Polyacanthocephala as an independent class within Acanthocephala.