Cirrus Pouch Research Articles

Reports on cestode genus Senga (Dollfus, 1934) (Ptychobothridae, Luhe, 1902) of Mastacembelus armatus from Marathwada region Maharashtra, India

The present investigation deals with biosystematic studies of Pseudophyllidean tapeworm Senga i.e. S. satarensis, S. madhavae, S. mangalbai and S.microrostellata collected from intestine of a Mastacembelus armatus at various places of Marathwada Region (M.S.) India during the period of May, 2012 to Oct., 2013. The worm of present study come closer to all known species of this genus in general topography of organ but differs due to morphometeric measurements and morphological characteristics. The Senga satarensis (Bhure et.al., 2011) comes closer to known species of the genus Senga Dollfus, 1934 in general topography of organ but differs due to taxonomic characters as scolex pear shaped, rostellum bearing 28-30 rostellar hooks, neck absent, testes 175-200 in numbers, cirrus pouch oval, ovary bilobed, vagina runs posteriorly, genital pores oval, vitellaria granular, uterus saccular and egg elongated. The Senga madhavae (Bhure et.al.,2010) comes closer to known species of this genus in general topography of organ but differs due to scolex triangular, rostellum bearing 40-44 rostellar hooks, neck absent, mature proglottids five to six times broader than long, testes 200-220 in numbers, cirrus pouch oval, ovary dumb-bell shaped, genital pores oval in shape, vitellaria granular, uterus saccular and egg elongated. The Senga mangalbai (Bhure et.al.,2011) comes closer to all the known species of this genus in general topography of organ but differs due to scolex conical, hooks 38-42 in numbers, absence of neck, testes 70-80 in numbers, ovary bilobed, each lobe nut shaped and vitellaria granular. The Senga microrostellata (Bhure et.al.,2014) comes closer to all known species of this genus in general topography of organ but differs due to scolex triangular, bothria sessile, rostellum armed with 18-20 hooks which is single circled, absence of neck, mature proglottids 8-9 times broader than long, testes 250-300 in numbers, cirrus pouch elongated, vagina runs posteriorly, ovary dumb-bell shaped, uterus sacular filled with non-operculated eggs and Vitellaria follicular.

A new species of Tylocephalum (Cestode: Lecanicephalide, Braun, 1900) from marine fish at Ratnagiri, India

The present investigation deals with systematic observation of the cestode parasitesTylocephalum Linton, 1890, that is, T. damodarae n.sp. of marine fish Dasyatis walga Muller and Henle, 1841 from West Coast of Maharashtra which is most pathogenic. The present worm comes closer to all the known species of the genus Tylocephalum in general topography of organ but differs due to scolex globular anteriorly and quadrangular posteriorly, presence of short neck, mature proglottids three to four times longer than broad, testes 60 to 70 in numbers and pre-ovarian, cirrus pouch oval, elongated placed below the middle of the proglottids, cirrus straight, vas deferens long coiled, genital pores are large, sub-marginal, irregularly alternate, vagina anterior to cirrus pouch, ovary ‘U’ shaped and vitellaria are granular in shape. Key words: Parasites, Tylocephalum, Dasyatis walga.

Morphological and molecular differentiation of Staphylocystis clydesengeri n. sp. (Cestoda, Hymenolepididae) from the vagrant shrew, Sorex vagrans (Soricomorpha, Soricidae), in North America.

Staphylocystis clydesengeri n. sp. is described from shrews Sorex vagrans in Montana and Washington, United States. It differs from the only previously known North American representative of the genus, S. schilleri, in having more numerous (37-42 vs. 22-30) and larger (39-44 microm vs. 27-30 microm) rostellar hooks. The two species also differ in several other important characters such as relative length of the cirrus pouch, position of gonads and shape of mature proglottides. Morphological differentiation of the new species from all previously known Palearctic species of Staphylocystis from Sorex is also provided. Differentiation from Staphylocystis parasitic in crocidurine shrews is not provided due to the high level of specificity among shrew hymenolepidids to the host genera and much greater levels of sequence divergence between Staphylocystis from the two groups of shrews. Molecular differentiation based on 2,800 base pair long sequences of nuclear ribosomal RNA (complete ITS region and partial 28S region), 663 base pair long sequences of mitochondrial nad1 gene and 542 base pair long sequences of mitochondrial ribosomal 16S gene strongly support the status of Staphylocystis clydesengeri n. sp. Relative utility of the DNA fragments used in this study for reliable differentiation among closely related species of mammalian hymenolepidids is discussed. Nuclear ribosomal RNA region appears to be too conserved for this purpose. Use of at least one mitochondrial gene in addition to nuclear ribosomal RNA or without it, is recommended. Vampirolepis novosibirskiensis Sawada & Kobayashi, 1994 is transferred to Staphylocystis as a junior synonym of S. furcara (Stieda, 1862). Rodentolepis gnoskei Greiman & Tkach, 2012 is transferred to Pararodentolepis Makarikov and Gulyaev, 2009 as a new combination Pararodentolepis gnoskei (Greiman & Tkach, 2012) n. comb.

Description of a New Species of <i>Sphincteristomum</i> from Sparid Fishies of the Algerian Coast (Western Mediterranean)

The objectif in the present study is description of a new species of Sphincteristomum Oshmarin, Mamaev & Parukhin 1961, named Sphincteristomum mediterraneae, which is described in Oran bay, Algeria. It parasitizes the intestine of naturally infected Pagellus erythrinus, Teleostei, Sparidae. The Pagellus erythrinus is in important food fish in the Mediterranean. This genus belongs to the family Apocreadiidae, sub family Schistorchiinae, characterized by an obvious oral muscular sphincter, into a large oral sucker, a disc-shaped acetabulum under the intestinal bifurcation, an ocular pigment scattered in the forebody, a sequence ovary and two testes in tandem and a I-shaped excretory bladder. In the new species, the digestive apparatus displays a hexagonal peculiar aperture, followed by a longitudinal slit, a waved pharynx, two long and broad caeca, with a thick internal wall of endothelial cells. Each caecum has a sub terminal anus. The female genital apparatus displays a transversally elongated ovary, under the acetabulum. On the side of the ovary, there is a small Mehlis gland. Under the ovary, there are two transverse converging vitelloducts. Lateral and extracaecal vitelline follicles, are spread near the caeca. They converge in the hindbody. The relatively short uterus is preovarian, mainly. It contains few large yellow eggs. Its distal part is creased transversally, just before ending in genital atrium. The male genital apparatus shows two lobed heart-shaped testes, post ovarian, in tandem. From the anterior edge of each testis, two spermiducts climb up and converge into a naked, curved or sinuous seminal vesicle, followed by a short prostate surrounded by few prostatic cells, and a narrow ejaculatory duct, opening in genital atrium. The genital pore is close to the acetabulum and the intestinal bifurcation. No cirrus pouch. The excretory system shows a relatively short tubular I-shaped bladder, reaching the inferior level of the second testis. Two thin excretory arms are seen until the forebody of the worms. The terminal excretory pore is closed by a small sphincter. In the same P. eryrthrinus, immature worms devoid of genitalia, young worms with genitalia devoid of eggs and ovigerous worms, live together with senile specimens. These last ones show still, oral sucker, diffuse vitelline follicles and very small and scattered ocular pigment.

Lecithostaphylus tylosuri sp. nov. (Digenea, Zoogonidae) from the digestive tract of the needlefish Tylosurus acus imperialis (Teleostei, Belonidae)

Lecithostaphylus tylosuri sp. nov. (Digenea, Zoogonidae) specimen were collected from the digestive tract of Tylosurus acus imperialis (Teleostei, Belonidae) caught off the eastern coast of Tunisia. L. tylosuri is very similar to its closest relatives, L. retroflexus and L. nitens. It can be easily distinguished from L. retroflexus (Molin, 1859) in having a more extensive vitellarium, with follicles reaching from the posterior margin of the acetabulum and extending beyond the posterior margin of the testes and a coiled seminal vesicle. L. tylosuri differs from L. nitens as illustrated by Linton 1898, in having a longer cirrus pouch (0.7 mm vs 0.36 mm, respectively) overlapping the anterior edge of the ventral sucker and a submarginal genital pore (submedian in L. nitens). It's also different from L. nitens as described by Manter 1947 in the vitelline disposition and in having the greater sucker ratio (1: 1.3-2.1 vs 1: 1.3-1.6, respectively). L. tylosuri differs from L. nitens as reported by Machida and Kuramochi 2000 by the absence of variations in the vitellarium disposition in all specimens. L. tylosuri is more similar to L. nitens from group A (considered synonym of L. ahaaha Yamaguti, 1970 = L. nitens by Bray 1987) by having vitelline follicles extending beyond the testes. L. tylosuri can be distinguished from L. ahaaha by its pedunculate rather than prominent acetabulum and its larger body size (4.10-7.85 mm long and 0.75-1.2 mm large vs 2.1-6 mm long and 0.45-1.1 mm large, respectively). The prevalence of L. tylosuri sp. nov. was negatively correlated with host length (decreasing with host size increasing). Host sex does not seem to affect infection parameters.

Study of Caryophyllidean (Capingentidae: Pseudobatrachus) tapeworms of fresh water fishes of Bundelkhand region of Madhya Pradesh, India: Part-III

Presently eight species are reported from the World in the genus, Pseudobatrachus, Pathak and Srivastav, 2005 i.e. P. chandrai Pathak and Srivastav, 2005; P. moolchandrai Srivastav et al, 2006; P. chandlaensis Sahu, 2007; P. madhyapradeshensis, Khare, 2008; P. chhatrasali Sahu et al, 2009; P. Sengarii Singh, 2009; P. kenensis Srivastav et al, 2010 and P. ramchandrai, Srivastav and Aditya, 2010. The present form is the ninth one from the Indian subcontinent as well as from the whole world and differs on the basis of various morphometric character viz. size of worm, size and shape of scolex, presence of bothridea and grooved rostellum, size of neck, size and number of testes, size of cirrus pouch, presence of internal seminal vesicle, size of ovary and shape of ovarian lobes, size of vitellaria and their distribution, presence of receptaculum seminis, size of uterus, size and type of eggs and their hosts. The caryophyllidean is unique among cestoidea in having monopleuroide body plane, i.e. without internal or external proglottidization and with a single set of reproductive organ. Thus it is provisionally accommodated as P. ramsagarensis n. sp.

A New Species of Atriotaenia (Cestoda: Anoplocephalidae) from the Hog-Nosed Skunk Conepatus chinga (Carnivora: Mephitidae) In Peru

Atriotaenia sanmarci n. sp. (Cestoda: Anoplocephalidae) is described as a parasite of the Andean hog-nosed skunk, Conepatus chinga (Carnivora: Mephitidae), from Cusco, Perú. The new species is primarily distinguished from related species by the distribution, and greater number, of testes, i.e., 194-223 versus 40-60 in Atriotaenia sandgroundi (Sandground, 1926) Baer, 1935, 47-73 in Atriotaenia procyonis (Chandler, 1942) Spasskii, 1951, and 21-84 in Atriotaenia incisa Railliet, 1899. Also, there are differences with respect to the larger dimensions of suckers (300-371 µm vs. 140 in A. sandgroundi, 83-134 in A. procyonis, 70-140 in A. incisa, and 155-192 in Atriotaenia hastati Vaucher, 1982) and in the cirrus pouch length (204-732 µm vs. 90 in A. sandgroundi, 200-220 in A. procyonis, 100-180 in A. incisa, and 150-205 in A. hastati). The new species differs from A. sandgroundi and A. hastati in having a larger body size (122-133 mm vs. 10.6 and 10, respectively). This cestode is the fifth species of Atriotaenia Sandground, 1926.

Philophthalmus aweerensis n. sp. (Trematoda: Philophthalmidae) found in a rhea (Rhea americana) in the United Arab Emirates

Philophthalmus aweerensis, a new eye fluke species, was discovered in the conjunctival cavities of a rhea in the UAE. This fluke was described and differentiated from other eye flukes that had been found in birds in the Middle East such as Philophthalmus palpebrarum, Philophthalmus nocturnus, Philophthalmus gralli, Philophthalmus lucipetus, Philophthalmus distomatosa, and Philophthalmus hegeneri. The new species lacks spination and is characterized by a long cirrus pouch extending behind the caudal margin of the acetabulum, long vitellaria of tubular type reaching the midbody, and a genital opening situated anteriorly to the bifurcation of the caeca.

Testing the evolutionary and biogeographical history of Glypthelmins (Digenea: Plagiorchiida), a parasite of anurans, through a simultaneous analysis of molecular and morphological data

The genus Glypthelmins includes some of the most common digeneans inhabiting the intestine of anurans in the Americas. Phylogenetic analyses of eight species of Glypthelmins and five outgroups, using 26 morphological characters and sequences of cox1, 18S, 5.8S, 28S genes and ITS2 were performed. Additionally, 2 species for which no molecular data have been obtained were included in the analyses. Following a simultaneous analysis approach and using different methods of phylogenetic inference we obtained a phylogenetic tree where the eight studied species conform a monophyletic clade which is well supported by Bremer support, bootstrap, and posterior probabilities. The mapping of morphological characters showed that traits such as serrate scale-like spines, bipartite seminal vesicle, metraterm running dorsal to the cirrus pouch, and ovary sinistral are unequivocal synapomorphies that support the monophyly of Glypthelmins. Phylogenetic hypothesis based on combined data sets was used to re-evaluate the evolutionary and biogeographical history of this group of digeneans. New information provided in this study, in the context of a more robust analytical method allowed us to corroborate that members of the “ Rana pipiens” group were the plesiomorphic group of hosts for Glypthelmins, with two host switching events occurring from the “ Rana pipiens” group to the “ Rana palmipes” group and to Hylidae during the evolutionary history of this group of parasites, and the origin of the group is proposed in Nearctic frogs, with a colonization of Neotropical hosts represented by a monophyletic clade constituted by G. brownorumae, G. facioi, and G. tuxtlasensis.

Oochoristica chalcidesi n. sp. (Eucestoda: Linstowiidae) from the ocellated skink, Chalcides ocellatus (Forskal, 1775) in the United Arab Emirates

Five out of ten ocellated skinks (Chalcides ocellatus) examined in Dubai between 2007 and 2010 were infected with cestodes of the genus Oochoristica. Out of the 36 collected tapeworms seven specimens were used to describe a new species. Oochoristica chalcidesi n. sp. belongs to the group of species with 25 to 35 testes arranged in two clusters. The lobes of the ovary are subdivided into 4-5 lobules in a similar way as O. ubelakeri described from Agama atra in Namibia. Both species differ in the presence of a neck, a lower number of mature segments in O. chalcidesi n. sp. and a different position of the cirrus pouch in relation to the ovary, as well as in the distribution of uterine capsulae in gravid segments.

A New Genus and Species of Brachycoeliidae (Digenea) from Chiropterotriton sp. (Caudata: Plethodontidae) in Mexico and Its Phylogenetic Position Within the Plagiorchiida Based on Partial Sequences of the 28S Ribosomal RNA Gene

Parabrachycoelium longicaecum n. gen., n. sp. (Digenea: Brachycoeliidae) is described from the intestine of a plethodontid salamander Chiropterotriton sp. Hosts were collected in bromeliads at the cloud forest of Tlaquilpa, Veracruz, Mexico. Members of the Brachycoeliidae Looss, 1899 (sensu Yamaguti, 1971) are characterized by having a spined tegument; ceca usually short, not passing level of gonads, but longer in some species; gonads posterior to, or in region of, acetabulum, with ovary anterior to testes; a well developed cirrus pouch containing a bipartite seminal vesicle; and uterus occupying entire hind-body posterior to testes. However, this combination of morphological traits prevents the inclusion of the new taxon in any of the genera in that family; a new genus was, therefore, erected to accommodate the new species. The new taxon is readily distinguished from members belonging to Brachycoelium Dujardin, 1845, Mesocoelium Odhner, 1910, and Tremiorchis Mehra and Negi, 1925, by having long ceca extending into the posterior third of the body, slightly surpassing the testes, and vitellaria extending along the body. The new species morphologically resembles Caudouterina rhyacotritoni Martin, 1966, a digenean parasitizing a plethodontid salamander; however, the latter species lacks spines in the tegument and is actually placed within the Allocreadiidae. To demonstrate further the phylogenetic position of the new taxon, we sequenced the D1-D3 regions of 28S rRNA gene and conducted a phylogenetic analysis of available sequences for the order to which brachycoeliids belong (Plagiorchiida). Sequence divergence of the partial 28S rRNA gene confirms its distinction from the aforementioned brachycoeliids, and the phylogenetic position within the Plagiorchiida places the new species as closely related to a clade formed by Brachycoelium + Mesocoelium. Divergence levels and phylogenetic position within the Plagiorchiida verifies the validity of the new genus and its inclusion in Brachycoeliidae.

Renylaima capensis n. gen., n. sp. (Trematoda: Brachylaimidae) from the urinary system of the shrew Myosorex varius Smuts, 1832 (Insectivora: Soricidae)

A trematode species belonging to the family Brachylaimidae was found in the kidneys and ureters of the forest shrew Myosorex varius (Insectivora: Soricidae: Crocidosoricinae) in a restricted, very damp area of the Hottentots Holland Mountain range, near Cape Town, South Africa. The adult stage is described anatomically and histologically. The relative frequency of monotesticular forms is highlighted. A comparison is made with other brachylaimid species known to infect shrews and other peculiar brachylaimids from poikilothermic invertebrates and vertebrates with which the South African species shares several aspects. Peculiar characteristics such as absence of a cirrus pouch and cirrus and presence of a genital atrium that can be evaginated to produce a prominent ventral extention of the body, as well as the fact that the urinary system of a mammal host is an extraordinary microhabitat for a trematode, indicate that this digenean represents a new genus and species for which the name Renylaima capensis n. gen., n. sp. is proposed.

Nudaciraxine imperium sp. n. (Monogenea: Axinidae) from the gills of Mediterranean needlefish Tylosurus acus imperialis (Teleostei: Belonidae)

Nudaciraxine imperium sp. n. (Monogenea: Axinidae) is described from the gills of the needlefish Tylosurus acus imperialis (Rafinesque) caught in the Gulf of Gabès, Tunisia. This new species mainly differs from both previously described species, Nudaciraxine gracilis (Linton, 1940) Price, 1962 from Strongylura marina (Walbaum) and Nudaciraxine cabosanlucensis Payne, 1990 from Ablennes sp., by having more testes (42 vs. 20-22 and 32, respectively). Nudaciraxine imperium also differs from N. gracilis by having a median vaginal pore (submedian in N. gracilis), narrower clamps (52-70 microm vs. 75-100 microm) and differently shaped haptoral lateral hamuli. From N. cabosanlucensis it can be distinguished by a J-shaped rather than U-shaped ovary, a longer cirrus pouch (125-190 microm vs. 64-70 microm), an oesophageal bifurcation slightly anterior to genital complex (immediately after pharynx in N. cabosanlucensis) and a wider guard on the lateral hamuli. In agreement with Payne (1990), the diagnosis of the genus Nudaciraxine Price, 1962 is amended as follows: vaginal pore dorsal, median to submedian, armed or not with horn-like spines. This is the first report of the genus Nudaciraxine in the Mediterranean Sea. The potential use of axinid monogeneans as biological tags for subspecies of belonid fishes is discussed.

A Human Case of Clinostomum complanatum Infection in Korea

A 33-year-old Korean man visited a medical clinic with complaints of throat discomfort and pain for one week. The symptoms occurred one day after eating raw brackish water fish, perch. Endoscopy revealed a fluke, about 5 mm in length, attaching to and peristaltically moving on the surface of the mucosa at the arytenoid region of the larynx. Microscopically, the testes were triangular, tandem, and separated by the uterus. The ovary and cirrus pouch were placed apart from median line between testes. Numerous blood cells were observed in the ceca. The worm was identified to be Clinostomum complanatum. This is the second human case of clinostomiasis in Korea.

Reduced egg production of Echinococcus multilocularis in experimentally infected and re-infected red foxes ( Vulpes vulpes)

Ingestion of eggs of the small fox tapeworm, Echinococcus multilocularis, causes the severe human disease alveolar echinococcosis. Previously, the dynamics of the egg excretion from infected carnivores have been studied only where the host animals have been exposed to a single experimental infection. In nature, foxes are most likely repeatedly infected. To study the effect of repeated exposure, twenty-one foxes were inoculated with a high dose of E. multilocularis protoscoleces three times over a 1-month period. For comparative purposes, three groups of twenty-one foxes were respectively inoculated with low, medium, or high single dose of protoscoleces. For each group, worm number and morphology were analyzed after necropsy of seven foxes at 1, 2, and 4 months after last inoculation. The establishment of intestinal worms was very low in all foxes, and surprisingly, most of the worms did not produce eggs. Although most reproductive structures were detectable, the genital pore and the cirrus pouch often had abnormal enlargements that spread internally, most likely preventing the reproductive function. The reason for this abnormality could not be determined, but the preparation and storage conditions of the inoculated protoscoleces may have contributed to the stunted development. Physical stress of E. multilocularis at the larval stage in rodents may later adversely affect the reproductive success of the adult tapeworm in the carnivore definitive host; as in the present study where a worm establishment in the definitive host was only followed by a neglectable egg production.

Diploposthe laevis (Bloch) Jacobi (Eucestoda, Hymenolepididae) from Netta peposaca (Vieillot) (Aves: Anatidae): first record for the Neotropical Region and a new host

One hundred eight rosy-billed pochards, Netta peposaca (Vieillot, 1816), collected in Brazil and Argentina were examined for endoparasites. Collection sites included the municipalities of Santa Vitória do Palmar and Jaguarão, Rio Grande do Sul State, Brazil (wintering site) and Alvear, Corrientes Province, northern Argentina (nesting site). Birds were frozen in dry ice after collection. During necropsy they were categorized according to sex and maturation, either adult or juvenile. The cestode Diploposthe laevis (Bloch) Jacobi, 1896 was found (prevalence 68.5%, mean infection was 2). The mean prevalence of D. laevis in Alvear (25.9%) was higher than found in Jaguarão and Santa Vitória do Palmar, Rio Grande do Sul (19%), and could be related to the nesting site and to the period when the birds may ingest a higher amount of food. This is the first record of a species of the genus Diploposthe in anatideans from South America, and the first record of the species in N. peposaca. Details of the cirrus pouch and vagina were described based on histological sections.

A NEW SPECIES OF OOCHORISTICA (EUCESTODA: CYCLOPHYLLIDEA) PARASITE OF CTENOSAURA OAXACANA (REPTILIA: IGUANIDAE) FROM MEXICO

Oochoristica whitfieldi n. sp., parasitizing the intestine of the Oaxacan black iguana Ctenosaura oaxacana (Kohler and Hasbun, 2001), in Ruinas de Guiengola, Oaxaca state, Mexico, is described. The new species can be distinguished from all 4 congenera infecting Iguanidae in the neotropical realm in possessing a lower mean number of testes (122 in O. acapulcoensis Brooks, Pérez-Ponce de León, and García-Prieto, 1999; 62 in O. guanacastensis Brooks, Pérez-Ponce de León, and García-Prieto, 1999, and 95 in O. leonregagnonae Arizmendi-Espinosa, García-Prieto, and Guillén-Hernández, 2005, vs. 35 in O. whitfieldi), and a wider scolex (0.450-0.600, 0.475-0.537, 0.5-0.8, vs. 0.25-0.26, respectively). Oochoristica iguanae Bursey and Goldberg, 1996 differs from the new Mexican species in having a longer strobila (60-110 mm vs. 14.4-33.7 mm, respectively), fewer ovarian sublobes (6 vs. 11-17), and a cirrus pouch that hardly reaches excretory canals (whereas in O. whitfieldi the cirrus pouch widely overpasses these canals).

Gynaecotyla squatarolae (Digenea: Microphallidae) from rats experimentally infected with metacercariae from the shore crab, Macrophthalmus dilatatus

Metacercariae of Gynaecotyla squatarolae (Digenea: Microphallidae) were discovered from the shore crab, Macrophthalmus dilatatus, purchased at a market in a coastal town of Taean-Eup, Chungcheongnam-do, Republic of Korea. Their adult flukes were confirmed by experimental infection of rats. The metacercariae of G. squatarolae were elliptical (391.1 x 362.5 micrometer), and the excysted metacercariae had progenetic genital organs, including the ovary and testes. To obtain adult flukes, 6 Sprague-Dawley rats were fed 500 metacercariae each, and killed at days 2, 4, and 6 post-infection. The adult flukes were identified as G. squatarolae (Yamaguti, 1934) Yamaguti, 1939, based on morphological characters, including 2 ventral suckers (1 large and 1 small), a large genital atrium equipped with the cirrus and the metraterm, separated male and female genital pores, a transversely long cirrus pouch, and extensive vitelline follicles. In the present study, it has been first proven that the shore crab M. dilatatus is a second intermediate host for G. squatarolae in the Republic of Korea.

A NEW GENUS AND SPECIES OF OPISTHOGONIMID (DIGENEA) OF LIOPHIS ANOMALUS (SERPENTES: COLUBRIDAE) FROM URUGUAY

During a study on the helminth fauna of Liophis anomalus specimens deposited in the Reptile Collection of the Secci6n Zoología Vertebrados, Facultad de Ciencias, Uruguay, a new genus of Opisthogoniminae was found. Paracotyletrema n. gen. is described from the buccal cavity and esophagus of specimens from Departamento de Flores, Uruguay. This new genus differs from the other 2 Opisthogoniminae, Opisthogonimus and Westella, by having much smaller body size; maximum width at level of posterior end of oral sucker; oral sucker length more than one-fourth of body length; oral sucker and acetabulum separated by a distance of about the diameter of pharynx; cirrus pouch length more than half of body length; and testes in completely coincident zones. The type and only species, Paracotyletrema poncedeleoni n. gen., n. sp., is defined by the following diagnostic characters: mean oral sucker length one-third to one-half of body length; cirrus pouch of about body length, contorted, mainly acetabular; large, round testes in nearly adjacent fields, and an ovary nearly adjacent to right testis. Besides the type locality, Paracotyletrema poncedeleoni has been found in L. anomalus specimens from the Departamentos of Artigas and Treinta y Tres; therefore, it has a widespread distribution in Uruguay.

Ophiotaenia bonneti sp. n. (Eucestoda: Proteocephalidea), a parasite of Rana vaillanti (Anura: Ranidae) in Costa Rica

Ophiotaenia bonneti sp. n. is described from the intestine of the frog Rana vaillanti Brocchi, 1877 (Anura: Ranidae) from San Gerardo, Guanacaste, Costa Rica. The new species is characterized by the testes 100-177 in number, the genital pores situated anteriorly, the osmoregulatory canals overlapping the testis field, the cirrus pouch length as 15-24% of proglottis width, and the uterus with 18-32 ramified diverticula on each side. It differs from the 23 known species of the genus Ophiotaenia La Rue, 1911, parasitic in amphibians, by one to several morphological characters. It differs from O. gracilis Jones, Cheng et Gillespie, 1958, the most morphologically similar species, in the sucker diameter in % of scolex diameter and in the morphology of the eggs - funnel-like depression and embryophore closely investing the oncosphere in O. gracilis. We generally observe a very low mean prevalence of the Proteocephalidea in Neotropical amphibians (about 0.41%-3%), but in the case of some host species, the prevalence can reach up to 25%. We conclude that these cestodes exhibit a strict host specificity of the oioxene type. Ophiotaenia junglensis Srivastava et Capoor, 1980 is considered a species inquirenda. Batrachotaenia hernandezi (Flores-Barroeta, 1955) becomes Ophiotaenia hernandezi (Flores-Barroeta, 1955) comb. n., B. tigrina (Woodland, 1925) becomes O. tigrina (Woodland, 1925) comb. n. and B. ceratophryos (Parodi et Widakowich, 1916) becomes O. ceratophryos (Parodi et Widakowich, 1916) comb. n.