Nematodes of Heligmonellidae (Strongylida) of Pogonomys championi Flannery and Pogonomys sylvestris Thomas (Rodentia: Muridae) from Papua New Guinea with descriptions of five new species.

Abstract

Eight species of heligmonellid nematodes including five new species and a putative new species were identified from the digestive tracts of 12 Pogonomys championi Flannery and 27 P. sylvestris Thomas (Murinae: Hydromyini) from Papua Indonesia. Hasanuddinia pogonomyos Smales, 2014 had been previously described from P. loriae Thomas and P. macrourus (Milne-Edwards) and Odilia mackerrasae (Mawson, 1961) from several endemic rodent species. Bunomystrongylus ilami n. sp. can be distinguished from its congeners by the number of rounded ridges in the synlophe; Hasanuddinia hasegawai n. sp. by the number of ridges, three ventral being hypertrophied, in the synlophe; Montistrongylus kaindiensis n. sp. by the number of ridges in the synlophe and the length of the spicules; Odilia helgeni n. sp. in the characters of the synlophe ridges; Odilia whittingtoni n. sp. in the characters of the synlophe ridges and the length of the spicules. Species richness of the nematode assemblage of P. sylvestris, nine species and a juvenile heligmonellid, was comparable to those of P. loriae and P. macrourus but that of P. championi, five species, was considered depauperate. Species composition showed both commonalities between the host species as well as distinctive features. Three of five species in the assemblage were unique to P. championi and five of nine species to P. sylvestris.