A revision of the genus Sebekia Sambon, 1922 (Pentastomida) from crocodilians with descriptions of five new species

Abstract

The genus Sebekia Sambon, 1922 (Pentastomida), parasitic in crocodilians, is reviewed. Five previously described species are recognised: S. divestei Giglioli in Sambon, 1922 from Crocodylus acutus, S. cesarisi Giglioli, 1922 in Sambon, 1922 from an undetermined African crocodile, S. wedli Giglioli in Sambon, 1922 from Crocodylus niloticus, S. microhamus Self & Rego, 1985 from Caiman sclerops and S. mississippiensis Overstreet, Self & Vliet, 1985 from Alligator mississippiensis. The type description of S. oxycephala (Diesing, 1835) Sambon, 1922 from Brazilian C. sclerops and Central American C. acutus is perfunctory and details of hook morphology are omitted. Sambon (1922) incorporated this species into the genus without seeing type specimens. Several authors since have described South American material under the binomial S. oxycephala, but it is apparent that more that one species is involved. We describe a related species, S. trinitatis n. sp., from C. sclerops in Trinidad and note that hook morphology in species from South American hosts may be different in several respects from that in species from hosts elsewhere. S. acuminata Travassos, 1924 and S. samboni Travassos, 1924 from an unnamed crocodile in Brazil, and S. jubini (Vaney & Sambon, 1910) Sambon, 1922 from the nasal cavity of Crocodylus siamensis are considered species inquirendae. Four new species are described from crocodilians in the Australasian Region: S. johnstoni n. sp. and S. multiannulata n. sp. from wild and farmed Crocodylus johnstoni and C. porosus in Australia, S. purdieae n. sp. from wild and farmed C. porosus in Australia and S. novaeguineae n. sp. from wild and farmed C. novaeguineae in Papua New Guinea. Alofia Sambon, 1922 is recognised as a genus distinct from but closely related to Sebekia.