Description ofMoniliformis kalahariensis(Acanthocephala: Moniliformidae) from the South African Hedgehog,Atelerix frontalis(Erinaceidae) in South Africa

Abstract

Moniliformis kalahariensis Meyer, 1931 (Moniliformida Schmidt, 1972: Moniliformidae Van Cleave, 1924) is redescribed from long, unsegmented juveniles and pseudosegmented mature adults collected from the South African hedgehog Atelerix frontalis Smith, 1831 (Erinaceidae) in South Africa. The species has not been taxonomically treated since Meyer's original description of only segmented adults from the same host, A. frontalis, as well as from the unusual host, the Namaqua sandgrouse, Pterocles namaqua (Gmelin, 1789) (Pteroclididae), in Botswana and from cystacanths from Blattella (Phyllodromia) germanica Linnaeus, 1767 (Blattidae Karny, 1908) in Bombay, India. Despite the generous space Meyer devoted to the description of mature adults of M. kalahariensis in 1931, and his shorter description in 1932, both accounts lacked considerable important information. We examined some of Meyer's original adults and cystacanths from Berlin's Museum fur Naturkunde by optical microscopy and by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Meyer did not measure or illustrate the proboscis hooks but reported 14 hook rows with 9-10 hooks each in his adult and cystacanth specimens. The proboscis of our juvenile and adult specimens from South Africa had 16 hook rows each with 9-11 hooks. One adult from Meyer's specimens that we examined using SEM had at least 16 proboscis hook rows, and one of his cystacanths had 14 hook rows each with 10-12 hooks. Our report provides new illustrations and morphometric data of the long juvenile and mature adults and gives the full range of measurements of proboscis armature. We further describe, for the first time, the 2 apical pores on the proboscis in all stages; the proboscis hooks and their lateral slits and the spiniform hooks in adult worms; hook roots; the reproductive system in both males and females (only the size and placement of testes were reported and an egg was illustrated by Meyer in 1931 and 1932); sensory pores; and the sensory plates near the posterior end of adult males. Lastly, we also describe the large unsegmented juveniles to which Meyer made no reference.