First Report of Mermithidae (Enoplea: Mermithida) Parasitizing Adult Stable Flies in Japan
Kaori Shimizu, Taizo Saito, Yasuhiro Takashima, Haruhiko Okada, Mitsuhiko Asakawa, Yasuo Inoshima

TL;DR
This paper reports the first case of Mermithidae nematodes parasitizing adult stable flies in Japan, based on morphological and genetic analysis.
Contribution
The first documented report of Mermithidae parasitizing adult stable flies in Japan, with genetic insights into the nematode species involved.
Findings
Three adult stable flies in Japan were found to be parasitized by Mermithidae nematodes.
Phylogenetic analysis grouped the mermithids with known species like Ovomermis sinensis and Amphimermis sp.
The findings suggest the presence of genetically distinct mermithid species across Japan.
Abstract
Mermithidae is a family of nematodes that parasitize a wide range of invertebrates worldwide. Herein, we report nematodes that were unexpectedly found in three of 486 adult stable flies (Stomoxys calcitrans) captured from three farms (F1, F2, and F3) in different regions of Gifu Prefecture, Japan. We aimed to characterize these nematodes both at the morphological and molecular level. Morphological studies revealed that the nematodes were juveniles of Mermithidae. Phylogenetic analysis based on 18S and 28S rDNA indicated that the mermithids from farms F1 and F2 could be categorized into the same cluster as Ovomermis sinensis and Hexamermis sp., whereas the mermithid from farm F3 clustered with Amphimermis sp. Additionally, these mermithids could be categorized within the same clusters as related mermithids detected in Japan that parasitize various arthropod orders. Our findings suggest…
Genes, proteins, chemicals, diseases, species, mutations and cell lines named across the full text — each resolved to its canonical identifier and authoritative record.
Click any figure to enlarge with its caption.
Figure 1
Figure 2
Figure 3
Figure 4Peer Reviews
No public reviews on file for this paper yet. If you reviewed it on a platform where reviews are public (OpenReview, ICLR, NeurIPS, ICML), you can paste yours below so the community can read it here.
Videos
No videos yet. Explain this paper in a talk, walkthrough, or lecture? Add one.
Taxonomy
TopicsForensic Entomology and Diptera Studies · Insects and Parasite Interactions · Mollusks and Parasites Studies
