New species of Staphylocystoides from shrews in North America

REU Fellow: Deyaneira Rodriguez, University of Puerto Rico - Mayagüez

Mentor: Dr. Stephen Greiman

Staphylocystoides is one of the most common genera of cestode that infects shrews. This is due to shrews consuming a large quantity of arthropods daily, which serve as intermediate hosts for tapeworm parasites. Understanding the biodiversity of parasites in a region can lead to further studies in the community structure over time and can provide greater resolution in ecological modeling and information to identify changes in distribution for hosts and pathogens assemblages. The study aimed to describe new Staphylocystoides species morphologically and molecularly by comparing it with other closely related species, including Staphylocystoides serrula.