Abstract
Three females and one male specimen of a previously unconfirmed species of horsehair worms (Nematomorpha) from South Africa are described using Scanning Electron Microscopy. The females correspond to the description of Chordodes ferox Camerano, 1897, a species previously described from the Democratic Republic of the Congo (Congo-Kinshasa) and an adjacent, not further specified region of the Republic of Congo (Congo-Brazzaville). Characteristic is the presence of enlarged and elevated simple areoles around the base of a thorn areole, in combination with further cuticular characters. This is the latest of a total of six species of horsehair worms reported from South Africa so far. Two species of praying mantids, Polyspilota aeruginosa (Goeze, 1778) and Sphodromantis gastrica Stål, 1858, have been identified as hosts of Chordodes ferox, while its distribution range in the region and the period of adult emergence from the host remain largely unknown.
Highlights
A number of horsehair worms (Nematomorpha) are known and have been described from Africa, but most are occasional records, with few results from extensive sampling
Tubercle areoles, thorn areoles, crowned areoles in clusters surrounded by circum-cluster areoles and the presence of crowned areoles with conspicuously long apical filaments are typical characters found in Chordodes species (Schmidt-Rhaesa et al 2008)
The two other Chordodes species described from South Africa, C. capensis Camerano, 1895 and C. hawkeri Camerano, 1902 differ substantially from the specimens reported here
Summary
A number of horsehair worms (Nematomorpha) are known and have been described from Africa, but most are occasional records, with few results from extensive sampling. Nematomorpha are long and slender worms, which develop parasitically in terrestrial insects (mainly praying mantids, carabid beetles, crickets and cockroaches) and a few other arthropods They emerge from these hosts into water for reproduction (see e.g. Hanelt et al 2005, Schmidt-Rhaesa 2013). Larval development takes place in water and larvae infect various aquatic animals as intermediate/paratenic hosts This early phase of the life cycle and the transmission to the final host are not completely understood yet (see Hanelt et al 2005, Schmidt-Rhaesa 2013 for reviews). We report here the determination of four specimens of horsehair worms, as Chordodes ferox Camerano, 1897 (at least the females) This species has been reported once before from Pietermaritzburg, KwaZulu-Natal, based on an old and poorly preserved specimen deposited in the Natural History Museum, London (see Schmidt-Rhaesa and Ehrmann 2001). More than 20 specimens of horsehair worms from different locations in Africa carry the label “Chordodes ferox” but it has not been established yet how many of these were adequately investigated and identified
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