Origin of mysterious New Zealand mudsnail parasite

mchadwicknews

In a new lab publication, we work to pinpoint the origin of the mysterious fish blood fluke (aporocotylid) found in French populations of the invasive New Zealand mudsnail, in part by examining the phylogenetic relationships of a bunch of other fish blood flukes that we encountered in snails in NZ and Australia. It’s pretty clear that the European parasite came from New Zealand, just like its invasive host. See our publications page for Gerard et al. (2017) A native-range source for a persistent trematode parasite of the exotic New Zealand mudsnail (Potamopyrgus antipodarum) in France.