What do you get when a stowaway toad enters the country from Mauritius and ends up in the care of a keen herpetologist? In this case, it was the discovery of a new species of parasitic worm that lives in the digestive tract of amphibians.
The toad in question was the guttural toad, a species native to Africa, although they were introduced to Mauritius in the 1920s. Back in October 2015, a couple of unsuspecting holidaymakers accidentally bought a guttural toad back in their luggage after a much-needed getaway. However, the toad wasn’t found until the couple’s washing had been for a full cycle in the washing machine. Upon discovery, current PhD student in Biodiversity Management, Steven Allain, was contacted to collect the toad. All of this happened back when he was living in Cambridge. A quarantine terrarium was prepared ready for the toad’s arrival in which it lived happily for four months before finding a more permanent home.
During the time that the toad was in Steven’s care, he noticed something usual about the toad’s faecal pellets. They contained what looked like little beansprouts: recognising that these were in fact parasites, Steven fixed them in ethanol before seeking expert advice for identification as to what they were. After contacting all of the relevant experts that he could find online, the worms were eventually sent to the Natural History Museum for analysis. The worms were with Eileen Harris, Senior Curator of Parasitic Worms, for some time before they made a trip to Australia.
The reason behind this journey Down Under was that Eileen was certain that what Steven had found was a new species, but needed confirmation from a colleague, Lesley Smales. It was through Lesley’s expertise and detective work that it was finally confirmed that the worms Steven had collected back in 2015 were indeed a new species, over three years later.
After that news, the team worked to produce a formal description for this new species which was recently published in the Journal of Helminthology. The new species was given the scientific name of Pseudoacanthocephalus goodmani, honouring Steven’s friend and colleague Mark Goodman, who also aided in the care and maintenance of the toad whilst she was in their care.
Not only is this an excellent example of international collaboration, but the case also highlights that you should always expect the unexpected, especially when dealing with stowaways.