Two new kathlaniid species (Nematoda: Cosmocercoidea) parasitic in salamanders of the genus Andrias (Amphibia: Caudata: Cryptobranchidae)

The new nematode species, Falcaustra hanzaki n. sp. and Urodelnema takanoensis n. sp. (Cosmocercoidea: Kathlaniidae), were found from the intestine of giant salamanders in Kyoto Prefecture, Japan. The first species is featured by the number and arrangement of caudal papillae (3 pairs of precloacal papillae, 8 pairs of postcloacal papillae and a single ventral precloacal papilla), the presence of a single pseudosucker, spicules equal in size (520–638 μm long), and V-shaped gubernaculum in males; vulva situated about 3/5 of a body in females. The second species is characterized by the number and arrangement of caudal papillae (5 pairs of precloacal papillae, 6 pairs of postcloacal papillae and a single ventral precloacal papilla), spicules equal in size (403–593 μm long), V-shaped gubernaculum in males; vulva situated about 3/5 of a body in females. The molecular phylogenetic analysis was performed using the partial 18S and 28S ribosomal DNA and the internal transcribed spacers 1 region in the nuclear DNA. This phylogenetic study raised a question about the validity of Family Kathlaniidae and related families of Cosmocercoidea.     

Paradollfusnema telfordi n. sp. (Nematoda: Cosmocercidae) from the worm lizard,Rhineura floridana (Amphisbaenia), of Florida

Paradollfusnema telfordi n. sp. (Nematoda: Cosmocercidae) from the large intestine of a worm lizard, Rhineura floridana, collected in Florida is described and illustrated. Paradollfusnema telfordi n. sp. represents the second species assigned to the genus and is distinguished from the other species on the basis of caudal papillae patterns in the male: P. telfordi n. sp. with 8 pairs of precloacal papillae, second pair from anterior much larger than others; Paradollfusnema amphisbaenia with 4 or 5 pairs of precloacal papillae, all of equal size.     

Falcaustra kutcheri n. sP. (nematoda: kathlaniidae) from Geoemyda yuwonoi (testudines: emydidae) from Sulawesi, Indonesia

Falcaustra kutcheri n. sp. (Nematoda: Kathlaniidae) from feces of the turtle Geoemyda yuwonoi is described and illustrated. Falcaustra kutcheri n. sp. represents the 68th species to be assigned to this genus and is distinguished from other oriental species by the distribution pattern of caudal papillae of the male: 10 pairs of sessile caudal papillae, 4 pairs precloacal, 1 pair adcloacal, 5 pairs postcloacal.     

Description of a new ascarid species in elasmobranchs from Taiwan Strait

A new ascarid of elasmobranchs, Terranova amoyensis sp. n., is described from the intestine of the red stringray, Dasyatis akajei (Müller and Henle), from Taiwan Strait. This is the second report from this genus with a gubernaculum in fish. The new species differs from its congeners mainly in the following combination of characters: the 3 lips are unequal in size and different in shape, i.e., the subventral lips are asymmetric bilaterally and larger than the dorsal lip; the latter lip is bilaterally symmetrical. The ventriculus is spherical, and the cecum is short relative to the esophagus. Spicules are unequal in size, 1.48 mm long for the right spicule and 1.34 mm for the left spicule, or 4.3 and 3.9% of body length, respectively. Nineteen pairs of caudal sessile papillae (excluding phasmids) are present, of which 13 pairs are precloacal; pairs 14 and 15 lie close together on either side of the cloaca, composing ad-cloacal papillae (the pair near the tail end are twins). The remaining 4 pairs of postcloacal papillae form a group near the tail tip (pair 18 also twins and near the phasmids). The gubernaculum is I-shaped. The excretory pore is located on top of a coniform prominence whose location is just behind or between the bases of the 2 subventral lips. The vulva is prominent at one-third of the anterior part of the body; the distance from the vulva opening to the anterior body end is 17.4 mm (13.61-21.41), 26.8% (25.14-28.93%) of the body length.     

Heliconema minnanensis n. sp. (Physalopteroidae: Physalopteridae) and Raphidascaris trichiuri (Yin and Zhang) n. comb. (Ascaridoidea: Anisakidae) in marine fishes.

Heliconema minnanensis n. sp. is described from the Chiloscyllium plagiosum south of the Minnan-Taiwan Bank Fishing Ground, Taiwan Strait. It is characterized by having the following combination of features. There are no longitudinal ridges in the posterior part of the body; the male has 4 pairs of precloacal papillae and 6-7 pairs of postcloacal papillae. The right spicule averages 0.2 mm long (1.1% of body length), and the left spicule averages 1.2 mm long (5.6% of body length), making an average spicule ratio of 1:5.2. The female has a vulva located on the left side of a thick membrane and 56-65% of the body length from the anterior end. Raphidascaris trichiuri (Yin and Zhang, 1983) comb. n., known previously from males only, is transferred from Cloeoascaris and redescribed, including material of both sexes from Muraenesox cinereus from the type locality.     

Hedruris hanleyae n. sp. (Nematoda: Hedruridae) from Hemidactylus garnotii (Sauria: Gekkonidae) from the Cook Islands, Oceania

Hedruris hanleyae n. sp. (Nematoda: Hedruridae) from the stomach of Hemidactylus garnotii collected in 1989 on Atiu, Cook Islands is described and illustrated. Hedruris hanleyae n. sp. represents the 21st species to be assigned to the genus and is distinguished from other oriental species by the distribution pattern of caudal papillae of the male: 10 pairs posterior subventral papillae; 2 pairs precloacal and 8 pairs postcloacal.     

Falcaustra washingtonensis n. sp. (Nematoda: Kathlaniidae) from Ambystoma tigrinum melanostictum (Caudata: Ambystomatidae) from Washington State, USA.

Falcaustra washingtonensis n. sp. (Nematoda: Kathlaniidae) from the intestine of the salamander Ambystoma tigrinum melanostictum is described and illustrated. Falcaustra washingtonensis n. sp. represents the 14th nearctic species assigned to this genus and is distinguished from other nearctic species by the distribution pattern of caudal papillae and number of posterior muscle groups of the male: 10 pairs of sessile caudal papillae--3 pairs precloacal, 1 pair adcloacal, 6 pairs postcloacal--and 5 posterior muscle groups.     

Description of Madathamugadia hiepei n. sp. (Nematoda: Splendidofilariinae), a parasite of a South African gecko,and its development in laboratory bred Phlebotomus dubosqi (Diptera: Psychodidae)

Madathamugadia hiepei n. sp., Splendidofilariinae, a parasite of a South African gecko Pachydactylus turneri is described together with its development obtained experimentally in Phlebotomus duboscqi (Diptera: Psychodidae: Phlebotominae). This new species differs from the two small, more highly evolved groups with a short tail and atrophied postcloacal papillae, the first group consisting of two Madagascan species, M. zonosauri and M. hopluri, parasites of the Gerrhosauridae and Iguanidae, and the second containing three species from the Ethiopian Region, M. huambensis, M. versterae and M. bissani, parasites of the Scincidae. It also differs from M. ineichi, the most primitive species of the genus (cuticularised buccal capsule, no atrophy of head papillae and largest number of precloacal papillae), a parasite of the Cordylidae in South Africa. M. hiepei is close to the two species parasitic in the Gekkonidae of the Mediterranean subregion, M. ivaschkini and M. wanjii, all three of which have a post-oesophageal vulva. However, the new species can be distinguished from the Mediterranean parasites by (a) the shorter oesophagus, (b) the number and position of the cloacal papillae and (c) the microfilaria. The three filariae of this group and M. ineichi, the only ones of which aspects of the life-cycles are known, experimentally develop in phlebotomine sand flies.     

Cucullanus costaricensis n. sp. (Nematoda: Cucullanidae), a parasite of Bagre pinnimaculatus (Siluriformes: Ariidae) from Río Tempisque, Costa Rica

A new species of nematode, Cucullanus costaricensis n. sp., is described from the Red Sea catfish Bagre pinnimaculatus from Río Tempisque, Costa Rica. The new species is characterized by the following traits: spicules and gubernaculum length (0.48 +/- 0.02 [0.45-0.50] and 0.20 +/- 0.02 [0.18-0.21], respectively); a protruding cloacal region in males, and the arrangement of caudal papillae (1 medial unpaired precloacal papilla and 10 pairs of papillae: 3 precloacals [first pair subventral and anterior to ventral sucker; second and third pairs posterior to ventral sucker; second pair asymmetric and subventral; third pair slightly subventral and closer to cloacal opening], 3 subventral adcloacal pairs [pairs 4-6], and 4 pairs of postcloacal papillae [seventh pair lateral, eighth pair subdorsal, ninth and tenth pairs subventral]); and lateral phasmids between the seventh and eighth pairs of postcloacal papillae. This finding represents the first record for a species of Cucullanus in Central America.     

<Emphasis Type="Italic">Typhlophoros kwenae</Emphasis> n. sp. (Nematoda: Ascaridida: Heterocheilidae), a gastric parasite from the Nile crocodile <Emphasis Type="Italic">Crocodylus niloticus</Emphasis> Laurenti (Reptilia: Crocodylidae) in South Africa

Based on light and scanning electron microscopical observations, Typhlophoros kwenae n. sp. (Heterocheilidae), a new nematode parasite, is described from the stomach of the Nile crocodile Crocodylus niloticus Laurenti in South Africa. In having three lips with well-developed posterior prolongations and prominent interlabial longitudinal cuticular ridges, four pairs of precloacal papillae and complex spicules divided into handle and broad alate blade in males, as well as the position of the vulva near mid-body in females, the specimens conform to the generic diagnosis of Typhlophoros von Linstow, 1906. They can, however, be distinguished from the two previously described congeners, T. lamellaris von Linstow, 1906 and T. spratti Sprent, 1999, by the number of complete interlabial ridges, the length of spicules in males and the position of the vulva as well as the length of the tail in females. This is the first record of the genus Typhlophoros from the Afrotropical Realm.     

Torquatoides trogoni n. sp. and Excisa ramphastina n. sp. (Nematoda: Habronematoidea: Habronematidae) in birds from the area de Conservacion Guanacaste, Costa Rica

Two new species of habronematid nematodes are described in birds from the Area de Conservacion Guanacaste, Costa Rica. Torquatoides trogoni n. sp., in Trogon massena, can be distinguished from T. torquata, T. bengalensis, and T. crotophaga in lacking lateral alae. Among species lacking lateral alae, the new species differs from T. balanocephala in having 14 versus 8-10 cephalic cuticular plaques, 21-22 versus 13-17 pairs of preanal papillae, and a beak-shaped versus U-shaped gubernaculum. The new species differs from T. singhi in body length, in having 21-22 versus 10 pairs of precloacal papillae, longer spicules, and larger eggs. The new species differs from T. crotophaga, the only other species known from Central America, in lacking lateral alae, and having 14 versus 6 cephalic cuticular plaques, 21-22 versus 17 pairs of precloacal and 3 versus 2 pairs of postcloacal papillae, and a gubernaculum. Excisa ramphastina n. sp., in Ramphastos sulfuratus, can be distinguished from E. excisa, E. biloba, E. buckleyi, E. dentifera, and E. khalili in having 1 lateral ala versus none, cervical papillae anterior versus posterior to the nerve ring, and asymmetrical caudal alae. Excisa ramphastina is similar to E. curvata in having cervical papillae anterior to the nerve ring but differs in having 1 lateral ala versus none, asymmetrical caudal alae, an average spicule ratio of 1:4.4 versus 1:3.3, and 4 versus 2 pairs of sessile papillae. The new species differs from E. columbi in having 1 versus 2 lateral alae, in the length of the spicules, in having a different spicule ratio, and in the numbers of sessile papillae.     

A new anisakid species parasitizing the imperial cormorant Phalacrocorax atriceps from the North Patagonian Coast, Argentina

The anisakid species Contracaecum chubutensis n. sp. was found parasitizing the imperial cormorant Phalacrocorax atriceps at 2 different localities, Bahía Bustamante (45 degrees 11'S, 66 degrees 30'W) and Puerto Madryn (42 degrees 47'S, 65 degrees 02'W) on the Patagonian coast. Morphometrical analysis and further studies of adult specimens of C. chubutensis n. sp. and fourth-stage larvae of Contracaecum sp. were done using light and scanning electron microscopy. The possession and disposition of 7 pairs of tail papillae differentiate this new species from C. osculatum, C. radiatum, C. plagiaticium, and C. mirounga. Double-sized spicules separate it from C. variegatum and C. pelagicum. Moreover, the paracloacal papillae disposition and tail shape differentiate this new species from C. travassosi. The presence of bifurcated interlabia separate it from C. ogmorhini and C. margolisi. Three well-marked lip notches, a sharp tail shape, and the of the transversal paracloacal papillae disposition distinguishes C. chubutensis n. sp. from C. magnipapillatum and C. septentrionale. The species here described can be differentiated from C. caballeroi by its bifurcated interlabia, longer spicules, and for possessing more precloacal papillae pairs. It can be separated from C. rudolphii by a thinner interlabia at the base, deeper lip notches, a sharper tail, the disposition of transversal paracloacal papillae, and greater distance between both papillae of the first subventral distal papillae pair. In addition, fourth-stage larvae recovered from the same host and localities were identified and described as Contracaecum sp. Prevalence of adult parasites was 66.7 %, mean intensity was 4.0, and mean abundance was 7.1.     

A new species of Spauligodon (Nematoda: Pharyngodonidae) parasite of Cnemidophorus spp. (Lacertilia: Teiidae) from southern Mexico

A new species of Spauligodon collected from Cnemidophorus mexicanus and C. deppii is described in this study. The species is placed in Spauligodon because the caudal alae start at the level of the precloacal papillae and embed the adcloacal papillae. The new species is most similar to S. goldbergi, but diagnostic traits of the former are the presence of 2 ridges in lateral alae, flaplike expansions in the caudal end of lateral alae, and a smooth tail for males. This species is the eighth recorded in the neotropics.     

Pseudascarophis brasiliensis sp. nov. (Nematoda: Cystidicolidae) parasitic in the Bermuda chub Kyphosus sectatrix (Perciformes: Kyphosidae) from southeastern Brazil

A new species of Pseudascarophis (Nematoda: Cystidicolidae) found in the stomach of Kyphosus sectatrix (Linnaeus) (Kyphosidae), off Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, is described. The new species can be differentiated from the other congeners by the presence of lateral alae, distinct but inconspicuous cephalic papillae at the anterior end, three pairs of precloacal and one pair of adcloacal papillae in males, egg morphology and morphometry of glandular oesophagus and spicules. Pseudascarophis tropica is transferred to Ascarophis as Ascarophis tropica (Solov''eva) comb. n. due to its ambiguous diagnosis.     

Redescription of Camallanus ancylodirus Ward and Magath 1916 (nematoda: Camallanidae) from freshwater fishes of North America.

Camallanus ancylodirus Ward and Magath 1916 is redescribed, based on examination of syntypes. This species differs from C. oxycephalus Ward and Magath 1916, the only other camallanid described from freshwater fishes of North America, in the size of male worms, number and arrangement of caudal papillae in males, shape of the male caudal end, position of the vulva, and length and shape of the female tail. The host range of C. ancylodirus is not clear from literature reports because the species may have been confused with C. oxycephalus.     

Carnoya kermarreci n.sp. (Rhigonematidae: Nematoda) from Anadenobolus politus (Porat) (Rhinocricidae: Diplopoda) from Guadeloupe

Summary Carnoya kermarreci n.sp. (Rhigonematidae; Nematoda) is described from Anadenobolus politus (Porat) (Rhinocricidae; Diplopoda) from Guadeloupe. The new species most closely resembles C. martiniquensis Adamson, 1984 from A. politus in Martinique and C. venezuelensis Adamson, 1984 from Rhinocricus flavocinctus from Venezuela in that the lips in the male are broad and the arrangement of caudal papillae is almost identical in the three species. Males of C. kermarreci are easily distinguished by the absence of spines, by the form of the cuticular projections at the base of the buccal cavity and by the fact that the most anterior pair of caudal papillae are located very close together. Females are distinguished by the presence of three pairs of somatic papillae near the level of the vulva. The nematode fauna of A. politus includes species from two distinct orders and presumably reflects the fact that diplopods are among the most ancient hosts of nematodes.