A New Species of Vampirolepis (Cestoda: Cyclophyllidea: Hymenolepididae) from the Bat Artibeus lituratus (Chiroptera: Phyllostomidae) in the Amazon Rainforest, Brazil

Round 1

Reviewer 1 Report

This is a valuable and well-written contribution to the scarce literature regarding helminth parasites of the Neotropics. 

Comments for author File: Comments.pdf

English is excellent. I made a few small comments to improve word choice and grammar.

Author Response

Reviewer 1: Was the type host individual deposited in a collection? Ideally this host catalog number should be referenced as the symbiotype.

Reply:  The type host was adequately identified according to taxonomic keys cited in the paper. However, the symbiotype will be deposited on the next days in a reference collection.

Reviewer 2 Report

Overall the research has potential, however, I have major concerns that the tapeworm specimens collected were not processed properly for correct measurement and differential diagnosis.

 

Abstract: The first sentence is difficult to follow, and needs to be corrected.

 

Intro: Missing Italics for Vampirolepis in one or some spots

 

Methods: If the cestodes were just placed in 70% ethanol without proper heat-killing and relaxing of adult cestodes than the worms will be contracted and in poor condition to do proper morphometrics. When contracted the scolex, overall strobilla, internal organs of mature, pregravid, and gravid segments will be incorrect for comparison to well relaxed and properly fixed specimens. It appears that in the light micrographs the worms are clearly in poor shape and contracted.

 

For the phylogenetic analysis, Echinococcus is an inappropriate out group. It is in the Taeniidae family which is not sister to the Hymenolepididae. More closely related Anoplocephalidae or Dilepididae taxa should be used as an outgroup.

 

For the description I cannot trust much of the measurements due to the potentially poor quality of some or all of the worms. Additionally, the line drawing of the new species is poorly done, as well as , no line drawings of the scolex are provided, and the rostellar hook drawings are also of poor quality for a modern species description. The authors mention that 25 hooks were observed in the new species, is this in all 10 specimens stained, or just in the one cleared. Given the wide range in hook number in individual Vampirolepis species, I highly doubt this species has a conserved 25 hooks (but it certainly is possible). The authors need to provide how many specimens were measured, what is the range and mean, etc.

 

However, in the end if the specimens were not properly heat-killed and relaxed, the measurement values are likely incorrect and a species description not possible.

Needs a little work

Author Response

Reviewer 2: Abstract: The first sentence is difficult to follow,  and needs to be corrected.

Reply: OK. It was corrected

 Reviewer 2: Intro: Missing Italics for Vampirolepis in one or some spots

Reply: OK. It was corrected.

 Reviewer2: If the cestodes were just placed in 70% ethanol without proper heat-killing and relaxing of adult cestodes than the worms will be contracted and in poor condition to do proper morphometrics.

Reply: We apologize for the lack of information about procedures for relaxing tapeworms to death prior to fixation, that were performed according to Amato & Amato (2010). Afterwards, the relaxed tapeworms were fixed in ethanol 70% for further analysis. This information was added to the text.

Amato, J.F.R.; Amato, S.B. Técnicas gerais para coleta e preparação de helmintos endoparasitos de aves. In: Ornitologia e Conservação: Ciência Aplicada, Técnicas de Pesquisa e Levantamento. Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul: Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, 2010; pp. 1-25.

 Reviewer 2: When contracted the scolex, overall strobilla, internal organs of mature, pregravid, and gravid segments will be incorrect for comparison to well relaxed and properly fixed specimens. It appears that in the light micrographs the worms are clearly in poor shape and contracted.

Reply: This procedure has generated quite satisfactory data in other studies already carried out without compromising the internal or external structures of the tapeworms (Tinnin et al., 2008; Makarikova et al., 2012; Makarikova & Makarikov, 2013). Furthermore, it allowed the DNA sequencing of Vampirolepis dalvae n. sp. which could not be carried out in other species of the same genus description studies that were fixed by formalin composed solution.

Tinnin, D.S.; Gardner, S.L.; Ganzorig, S.  Helminths of small mammals (Chiroptera, Insectivora, Lagomorpha) from Mongolia with a description of a new species of Schizorchis (Cestoda: Anoplocephalidae). Comp. Parasitol. 2008, 75, 107-114.

Makarikova, T.A.; Gulyaev, V.D.; Tiunov, M.P.; Feng, J. A new species of cestode, Vampirolepis muraiae n. sp. (Cyclophyllidea: Hymenolepididae), from a Chinese bat. Syst. Parasitol. 2012, 82, 29-37.

Makarikova, T.A.; Makarikov, A.A. Sawadalepis prima n. g., sp. (Cestoda: Cyclophyllidea) from the Schreiber´s bent-winged bat Miniopterus schreibersii Kuhl (Chiroptera: Vespertilionidae) from China. Syst. Parasitol. 2013, 86, 59-68.

Reviewer 2: For the phylogenetic analysis, Echinococcus is an inappropriate out group. It is in the Taeniidae family which is not sister to the Hymenolepididae. More closely related Anoplocephalidae or Dilepididae taxa should be used as an outgroup.

Reply: OK. The phylogenetic analyze was redone including as outgroup the species Choanotaenia infundibulum belonging to the family Dilepididae a sister group of the family Hymenolepididae.

Reviewer 2: For the description I cannot trust much of the measurements due to the potentially poor quality of some or all the worms. Additionally, the line drawing of the new species is poorly done, as well as, no line drawings of the scolex are provided, and the rostellar hook drawings are also of poor quality for a modern species description.

Reply: The line drawings of the new species were improved and the scolex drawing, such the hook drawing were added. The figure 1 was redefined and a figure of the rostellar hooks and the detailing of the fraternoid hooks were added. The Gravid proglottids and the detailed oncospheres were dismembered from Figure 1 and transformed into Figure 3. The other figures of the manuscript were maintained.

Reviewer 2: The authors mention that 25 hooks were observed in the new species, is this in all 10 specimens stained, or just in the one cleared. Given the wide range in hook number in individual Vampirolepis species, I highly doubt this species has a conserved 25 hooks (but it certainly is possible). The authors need to provide how many specimens were measured, what is the range and mean, etc.

Reply: The hook number ranges (21-25) observed in the 10 stained specimens have been added. We considered the number of hooks to be 25 because it was confirmed in all 5 specimens that had the rostellum analyzed in greater detail.  Moreover, other data of the measured structures such as number of specimens analyzed, the range and the mean were provided throughout the table.