RESUMO
Gastrointestinal nematodes are important ecological assets for the maintenance of the biodiversity in the Atlantic Forest in Brazil. They parasitize a number of animals of the local fauna, in which some species can promote serious injuries in the stomach wall of their hosts, which may lead to death. Among these nematodes, parasites of the genus Physaloptera are known to parasitize mammals (particularly carnivores and small rodents), birds and reptiles, being important for the local biodiversity. In this work, three hundred and sixty-two nematodes were recovered from the stomach of twenty-one Metachirus nudicaudatus (Didelphimorphia: Didelphidae) collected in Duas Bocas Biological Reserve, State of Espírito Santo, one of the largest Atlantic Forest remnants and important wildlife refuge of the Atlantic Forest in Brazil. Analysis using fluorescence and scanning electron microscopy as well as phylogenetic assessment using the mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit I gene showed that the parasites belong to the Physaloptera. Our results show details of the nematode morphology including the cloacal papillae distribution, cuticular topography details, 2D and 3D measurements of the structures with taxonomic importance. Molecular data confirmed the validity of P. mirandai and the phylogeny supported the monophyly of the assemblage formed by Physaloptera and Turgida. The use of a combination of quantitative and multidimensional microscopy tools, such as 3D reconstruction and modeling, allied to phylogenetic analysis may provide grounds for a new approach on helminth taxonomy and structural characterization.
