Family Notocotylidae Lühe, 1909.

Abstract

[Extract] Members of the pronocephaloid family Notocotylidae Luhe, 1909 are found in the digestive tract, commonly the caeca, of birds and mammals. Most species arc small, monostomatous, flattened worms, which are elongate or oval in ventral view. The testes in most genera are symmetrical, lateral near the posterior end and separated by the ovary and the ends of the usually simple caeca. Mehlis' gland is always anterior to the ovary. A common feature of the family (lacking only in Paramonostomum, Luhe 1909, Ogmocotyle Skrjabin & Schuhz, 1933, some species of Hippocrepis Travassos, 1922 and possibly Notocotyloides Dollfus. 1966) is the presence of papillae and/or ridges on the ventral surface. The various arrangements of these structures are important diagnostic characters for the genera. Unfortunately, the papillae and ridges can be difficult to see, especially in cleared whole-mounts (e.g. Stunkard, 1967; MacKinnon, 1982a), a situation that has led to misinterpretation on a number of occasions. Among the functions suggested for them is adhesion to the host, secretion of digestive enzymes, absorption of nutrients from the host gut and respiration. Ultrastructural studies of ventral papillae show that they are not glandular (Wittrock, 1978; MacKinnon, 1982b), but their true function remains obscure. Ultrastructural studies on the long ventral ridges in genera such as Ogmogaster jagerskiold, 1891 are required to determine whether these might be glandular as suggested by, among others, Rausch & Fay (1966).