Steinernema akhursti sp. n. (Nematoda: Steinernematidae) from Yunnan, China

A new species of entomopathogenic nematode, herein described as Steinernema akhursti sp. n., was recovered from soil samples collected from Yunnan Province, the People's Republic of China. Both morphological and molecular data show congruently that S. akhursti sp. n. belongs to the Steinernema feltiae group. It can be separated from all described Steinernema species by the combined morphological and morphometrical characters of various stages of the nematodes. For the first generation male, the new species can be recognized by spicule length 90 +/- 4.6 microm, spicule tip blunt with an aperture on the ventral side, gubernaculum with a long and needle-shaped cuneus, and tail conoid with a prominent mucron on the tip and a concave on ventral side. For the infective juvenile, the combination of the following characters: body length 812 +/- 19 microm, distance from anterior end to excretory pore 59 +/- 1.5 microm, tail length 73 +/- 2.9 microm, E% 77 +/- 4.5, lateral field with six evenly distributed and identical ridges at the middle body portion, and tail with long and slightly constrict hyaline portion can be used to separate the new species from other nematodes. For the female, the new species is characterized by: tail conoid with a short mucron and slightly swelling anal portion and a symmetrical, slightly protruding vulva with conspicuous double-flapped epiptygma. The nematode can be separated from other described species of Steinernema by DNA sequences of either a partial 28S rDNA or the internal transcribed spacer regions of rDNA and from the closely related species S. feltiae and Steinernema oregonense by cross-breeding tests.     

Description of Bakernema dauniense n. sp. (Nematoda: Criconematidae) from Italy

Bakernema dauniense n. sp., a bisexual species from the rhizosphere of Pinus halepensis Mill. in Italy, is described and illustrated. Primary differentiating characteristics of the female are body annules bearing short, membranous projections 1.4-2.2 μm long, an anterior vulval lip slightly overlapping the posterior, and a linearly arcuate vagina. The juvenile differs markedly from adults by having annules with a beaded margin, which lack membranous projections. Generic and specific relationships of B. dauniense n. sp. are discussed. This occurrence is the first for a species of Bakernema in Europe.     

Two new species of Tubificoides (Oligochaeta, Tubificidae) and new records of T. brownae and T. imajimai from the Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean, with a redescription of T. bakeri

Two new species of Tubificoides are described from the west coast of Florida. Both species have large lateral openings of the penis sheaths with proximal flap-like projections. Tubificoides pollex sp.n. is characterized by (1) papillate body wall in postclitellar segments; (2) possession of hair and bifid setae anteriorly, and only bifid setae in pcstclitellar segments; and (3) conical penis sheaths with a lateral opening and a flap-like projection on the proximal margin. The setal distribution of the new species is similar to that of T. bakeri Brinkhurst, 1986, which is redescribed on the basis of new material. Tubificoides lunatus sp.n. is similar to T. pollex except that the flap-like projections of the penis sheaths are crescent shaped, all the somatic setae are bifid, and body wall papillae are absent. Records of Tubificoides brownae Brinkhurst & Baker, 1979, and T. imajimai Brinkhurst, 1986, from the Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean, respectively, are also presented. The latter species was previously known only from subtropical regions of Japan and the People's Republic of China.     

Pseudorhabdosynochus argus n. sp. (Monogenea: Diplectanidae) from Cephalopholis argus, P. minutus n. sp. and Diplectanum nanus n. sp. from C. sonnerati and other monogeneans from Cephalopholis spp. (Perciformes: Serranidae) off Australia and New Caledonia

Monogeneans from three species of Cephalopholis, namely C. argus, C. sonnerati and C. boenak, are described from fish caught off New Caledonia, South Pacific, with comparisons with material from off Queensland, Australia. Pseudorhabdosynochus argus n. sp. from C. argus is present off New Caledonia and Australia; it is characterised by its male quadriloculate organ with very elongate cone, and its sclerotised vagina with anterior trumpet, coiled primary canal and distal part with two chambers and an accessory part. C. boenak has no monogeneans off New Caledonia, but off Australia it harbours Pseudorhabdosynochus sp., a new species which is morphologically related to P. argus. P. minutus n. sp. from C. sonnerati is characterised by its minute body and a sclerotised vagina with two spherical chambers. Diplectanum nanus n. sp. from C. sonnerati is characterised by its very small funnel-shaped male copulatory organ and minute body. A new species, Haliotrema sp. from C. sonnerati is characterised by a very elongate tubular penis; it is distinct from H. cromileptis Young, 1968 (redescribed herein from specimens collected from Cromileptes altivelis off New Caledonia). The species described here include the first members of Pseudorhabdosynochus and the first diplectanids described from species of Cephalopholis. There is no evidence for a clade of Pseudorhabdosynochus species specific to members of Cephalopholis, since the species described here share similarities with other species from Epinephelus. However, it is suggested that the gill structure of Cephalopholis spp. imposes selection toward small body sizes for monogeneans.     

Steinernema aciari sp. n. (Nematoda: Steinernematidae), a new entomopathogenic nematode from Guangdong, China

A new species of entomopathogenic nematode, Steinernema aciari sp. n. was described. It was recovered from a soil sample collected from Haimen town, Shantou district in the eastern coast of Guangdong province, the People's Republic of China during a survey for entomopathogenic nematodes. S. aciari sp. n. belongs to the Steinernema glaseri group. It can be separated from all described Steinernema species by the combined morphological and morphometrical characters of various stages of the nematodes. For male, the new species can be recognized by spicule length (86+/-6.3 microm); spicule tip blunt with a hook-like structure; gubernaculum with a short and Y-shaped cuneus and corpus well-separated posteriorly. For infective juvenile, the combination of the following characters: body length (1113+/-68 microm), distance from anterior end to excretory pore (95+/-3.7 microm), tail length (78+/-5.2 microm), and E % (123+/-7) can be used to differentiate the new species from other nematodes. For female, the tail (conoid with a long mamillate terminus and a distinct postanal swelling) and vulva (slightly protruding from body surface with conspicuous double flapped epiptygma) shapes can be used as diagnostic characters for the new species. The new species can also be distinguished from other Steinernema species by DNA sequences of either a partial 28S rDNA or the internal transcribed spacer regions of rDNA, and from the close related species S. glaseri, Steinernema longicaudum CWL05, and Steinernema guangdongense by cross-breeding test.     

Acanthocheilonema delicata n. sp. (Nematoda: Filarioidea) from Japanese badgers (Meles anakuma): Description,molecular identification,and Wolbachia screening

Acanthocheilonema delicata n. sp. (Filarioidea: Onchocercidae: Onchocercinae) is described based on adult filarioids and microfilariae obtained from subcutaneous connective tissues and skin, respectively, of Japanese badgers (Meles anakuma) in Wakayama Prefecture, Japan. No endemic species of the genus had been found in Japan. Recently, some filarioids (e.g., Acanthocheilonema reconditum, Dirofilaria spp., and Onchocerca spp.) have come to light as causative agents of zoonosis worldwide. The new species was readily distinguished from its congeners by morphologic characteristics such as body length, body width, esophagus length, spicule length, and the length of microfilariae. Based on the molecular data of the mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit 1 (cox1) gene, A. delicata n. sp. was included in the clade of the genus Acanthocheilonema but differed from two other congeneric species available for study, A. viteae and A. reconditum. Acanthocheilonema delicata n. sp. did not harbor Wolbachia. It is likely that the fauna of filarioids from mammals on the Japanese islands is characterized by a high level of endemicity.     

Description of a New Species of Pelagic Eelpouts Melanostigma japonicum sp. nova (Zoarcidae) from the Pacific Coast of South Japan with a Key for the Species of the Genus Melanostigma from the Pacific Ocean and the Adjacent Waters of the Indian and Southern Oceans

Journal of Ichthyology - A new species of Melanostigma japonicum sp. n. is described from the Tosa Bay (Southern Japan). The holotype of the species, previously identified as M. orientale, differs...     

Three new species of Eimeria (Apicomplexa: Eimeriidae) from the silvery mole rat Heliophobius argenteocinereus Peters, 1846 (Rodentia: Bathyergidae) from Malawi

Three species of Eimeria Schneider are described from feces of the African bathyergid rodent, Heliophobius argenteocinereus, from Malawi. Oocysts of Eimeria heliophobii n. sp. are broadly ellipsoidal; 27.9 (22-31) x 22.3 (18-24.5) microm with a brownish, heavily pitted oocyst wall, and vacuolar oocyst residuum. Sporocysts are oval, 12.8 (12-14) x 8.4 (8-9) microm with Stieda and substieda bodies. Eimeria nafuko n. sp. has subspherical oocysts; 15.5 (15-16) x 12.8 (12-13) microm with a smooth, colorless oocyst wall. Sporocysts are oval, 9.2 (9-10) x 5.3 (5-6) microm, with a small Stieda body; the substieda body is not visible. Oocysts of Eimeria yamikamiae n. sp. are broadly ellipsoidal to subspherical; 20.8 (19-22) x 17.5 (15.5-19) microm, with slightly yellowish, very faintly pitted oocyst wall. The majority of oocysts contained a single spherical vesicular oocyst residuum and numerous very small granules. Sporocysts are oval, 10.7 (10-11) x 6.8. (6-7) microm, with a dome -like Stieda body and a subspherical to lentil-like substieda body. Typically, infected rodents shed oocysts of more than 1 species of Eimeria.     

The maple leaf-cutter moth and its allies: a revision of Paraclemensia (Incurvariidae s.str.)

. The Holarctic genus Paraclemensia Busck, 1904, is revised and eight species are recognized: cyanella (Zeller) [= europaea Davis] (Europe), caemlea (Issiki) comb.n. (Japan), viridis sp.n. (Japan), oligospina sp.n. (Japan), cyanea sp.n. (Japan), acerifoliella (Fitch) [= hiteiceps (Walker); = iridella (Chambers)] (U.S.A. and Canada), incerta (Christoph) comb.n. (Siberia and Japan) and monospina sp.n. (Japan). The monophyly of the genus is demonstrated and the phylogeny and biogeography of the species are discussed. P. acerifoliella from North America is regarded as most closely related to two of the eastern Palaearctic species, incerta and monospina. A key to species is provided, and adults and male and female genitalia are described and illustrated (or references are given to illustrations published elsewhere). Three lectotypes are designated. The genus-group name ‡ Tschabia Issiki is demonstrated to be nomenclaturally unavailable.     

A new genus and species of monostiliferous hoplonemertean (Nemertea: Enopla: Monostilifera) from Japan

A new genus and species of monostiliferous hoplonemertean, Diopsonemertes acanthocephala gen. et sp. nov., is described from Otsuchi Bay, Japan. Significant anatomical features of the new form include a body wall longitudinal musculature anteriorly divided into inner and outer layers by connective tissue, no pre-cerebral septum, the presence of a thin coat of diagonal muscle fibres between the body wall longitudinal and circular muscle layers in the foregut body region, cephalic retractor muscles derived only from the inner portion of the divided longitudinal muscles and a rhynchocoel more than half the body length.     

New filarial nematode from Japanese serows (Naemorhedus crispus: Bovidae) close to parasites from elephants

A new onchocercid species, Loxodontofilaria caprini n. sp. (Filarioidea: Nematoda), found in subcutaneous tissues of 37 (33%) of 112 serows (Noemorhedus crispus) examined in Japan, is described. The female worm had the characteristics of Loxodontofilaria, e.g., the large body size, well-developed esophagus with a shallow buccal cavity, and the long tail with three caudal lappets. The male worm of the new species, which was first described in the genus, had unequal length of spicules, 10 pairs of pre- and post-caudal papillae, and three terminal caudal lappets. Deirids were present in both sexes. Among four species of the genus loxodontofiloria: one from the hippopotamus and three from the Elepantidae, L. caprini n. sp. appears close to L. asiatica Bain, Baker & Chabaud, 1982, a subcutaneous parasite of Elephas indicus in Myanmar (Burma). However, L. caprini n. sp. is distinct from L. asiatica in that the Japanese female worm has an esophagus half as long and the microfilariae also half as long with a coiled posterior. The microfilariae were found in the skin of serows. The new parasite appears to clearly illustrate a major event in the evolution of onchocercids: the host-switching. This might have occurred on the Eurasian continent, where elephantids and the lineage of rupicaprines diversified during the Pliocene-Pleistocene, or in Japan, into which some of these hosts migrated.     

Philometra longa n. sp. (Nematoda: Philometridae), a new parasite from the abdominal cavity of the eastern sea garfish Hyporhamphus australis (Hemiramphidae,Beloniformes) off Australia

Systematic Parasitology - A new nematode species, Philometra longa n. sp. (Philometridae), is described from male and female specimens collected from the body cavity of the marine fish,...     

Trichostrongylina (Nematoda) from Malagasy Muridae. III--description of a new species of Heligmonoides Baylis, 1928 (Heligmonellidae) parasitic in Mus musculus

Heligmonoides variabilis n. sp. (Heligmosomoidea, Nippostrongylinae) a parasite of Mus musculus from Madagascar is related to H. afghanus (Tenora, 1969), H. ikeharai Hasegawa, 1990 and H. josephi (Wertheim & Durette-Desset, 1976), all having the dorsal ray divided anterior to the arising of rays 8. H. ikeharai a parasite of Tokudaia muenninki (Muridae) from Japan is the most closely related species with rays 8 arising at mid-length along the dorsal ray. It is differentiated from the new species by very long spicules (almost half of body length) and by the length of the vestibule (almost one millimeter). A new definition of the genus Heligmonoides Baylis, 1928 is proposed with a dichotomic key of the species. The biogeographic distribution and the host spectrum of the genus are described.     

A new species of Oswaldocruzia (Molineidae: Nematoda) in Chaunus marinus (Amphibian: Bufonidae) (Linneaus, 1758) from Brazil

Oswaldocruzia belenensis n. sp. (Strongylida: Molineidae) from the small intestine of Chaunus marinus (L.) from Belém, Pará State, Brazil is described and illustrated by light and scanning electron microscopy. Oswaldocruzia belenensis n. sp. is a neotropical species of this genus, harboring caudal bursa Type II, spicules divided in 3 branches, i.e., a blade, shoe, and fork. The blade is divided in 4 points, of which at least 2 are bifurcated. Cervical alae are absent; there is a simple cephalic vesicle and synlophe with low ridges perpendicular to the body without chitinous supports. The most closely related species are O. bonsi and O. lescurei. Oswaldocruzia belenensis n. sp. differs from O. lescurei and O. bonsi by the number and location of cephalic papillae, rays 2-3 and 5-6 running parallel and slightly separated, ray 6 not overlapping ray 8, and body structure morphometry. Oswaldocruzia belenensis n sp. also differs from O. lescurei by the discontinuity of the longitudinal ridges, the number of subdivisions of the blade, and the absence of extra processes at the bifurcation level of the fork of the spicules. The new species differs from O. bonsi by male and female body dimensions, the symmetry of the caudal bursa, dimension and subdivisions of the spicules without extra processes of the fork, 2 extra processes at the distal division of the blade, and location of ray 7 at the anterior margin of the cloacal aperture. Oswaldocruzia belenensis n. sp. represents the 82nd species assigned to the genus.     

Two New Species of Tylenchidae,Basiroides nortoni n. sp. and Tylenchus hageneri n. sp. (Nematoda: Tylenchida)

Basiroides nortoni n. sp. and Tylenchus hageneri n. sp. from soil around roots of corn from Ollie, Iowa, are described and illustrated. B. nortoni n. sp. has a posterior vulva, a long posterior uterine branch and an arcuate tail with pointed terminus. T. hageneri n. sp. has four lines in the lateral field, coarse transverse cuticular striae along the whole body, and a filiform tail slightly shorter than vulva-anus distance.     

Lanceimermis palustris n. sp. and Telomermis palustris n. sp. (Nematoda: Mermithidae) parasites of chironomid (Insecta: Diptera) adults from Lake Alice Bog in northern Minnesota

In the summer of 2003, chironomid imagoes eclosing from Lake Alice Bog in Minnesota yielded mermithid nematodes of 2 new species. Lanceimermis palustris n. sp. is distinguished from the other 14 species of the genus by the subventral mouth position, thinness of the hook-shaped spicule, body index, and structure of the male tail muscles. Telomermis palustris n. sp. is distinguished from the only other species of the genus by the structure of the amphids, body length, maximum body width, length of the esophagus, and the presence of a minute larval terminal horn. Lanceimermis palustris n. sp. hosts were Chironomus maturus Johannsen and T. palustris n. sp. hosts were Tanytarsus mendax Kieffer, Paratanytarsus nr. dissimilis n. sp., and Micropsectra polita (Malloch). In both mermithid species, the percent of mermithid males per host increased with the intensity of the infection.     

Monogeneans from Pangasiidae (Siluriformes) in Southeast Asia: X. six new species of Thaparocleidus Jain, 1952 (Ancylodiscoididae) from Pangasius micronema

The examination of gill parasites from Pangasius micronemao Bleeker, 1847 (Siluriformes, Pangasiidae) in Southeast Asia revealed the presence of nine species of Monogenea. Two (Thoparocleidus brevicochleus Pariselle, Lim & Lambert, 2001 and T. sinespinoe Pariselle, Lim & Lambert, 2001) have been previously described. Among the others, six species, belonging to Thaporocleidus Jain, 1952 (Monogenea, Ancylodiscoididae) as defined by Lim (1996) and Lim et al. (2001), are considered new species: T. tacitus n. sp., T. summagracilis n. sp., T. portentosus n. sp., T rukyonii n. sp., T. durandi n. sp., and T. lebrunce n. sp. The remaining species is represented by too few individuals to be conclusively described.     

Two new species of Temnocephala (Platyhelminthes, Temnocephalida) from the South American snake-necked turtle Hydromedusa tectifera (Testudines, Chelidae)

Temnocephala brevicornis Monticelli, 1889 is the only species of the genus Temnocephala Blanchard, 1849 reported from chelonians to date. During a survey of the species of Temnocephala extant in southern Uruguay, two new species were found on the chelonian Hydromedusa tectifera Cope, 1869. They are described here as Temnocephala pereirai n. sp. and Temnocephala cuocoloi n. sp. Both resemble T. brevicornis, but differ in the morphometry of the penial stylet, and in qualitative details of the reproductive complex. Temnocephala pereirai n. sp. differs from T. brevicornis by having a massive, cylindrical sphincter in the distal portion of the vagina, and a seminal vesicle that opens into the subpolar to equatorial portion of the contractile vesicle. In addition, the penial stylet in Temnocephala pereirai n. sp. is large in relation to body size, straight and more slender, having the distal portion of its shaft slightly sinuous, and a smaller introvert equipped with about 16 distal crowns of smaller spines. Temnocephala cuocoloi n. sp. is most similar to T. brevicornis, but differs by having a smaller, curved penial stylet that has a smaller introvert in relation to stylet size, with about 10 distal crowns of smaller spines. A key to the species of the Temnocephala from chelonians is provided. This study supports the validity of the following characters previously proposed for the taxonomy of the genus Temnocephala: the shape of the sphincters in the female reproductive system, the shape of the penial stylet, and the number, size, and position of spines in the introvert.     

Two new species ofTrichogramma [Hym.: Trichogrammatidae] from the U.S.A.

Two new species ofTrichogramma from the U.S.A. are described.T. parkeri sp. n., a morphologically distinct species, was reared from an egg ofHeliothis zea (Boddie), whileT. platneri sp. n. which is morphologically indistinguishable fromT. minutum Riley, was reared from eggs ofCydia pomonella (L.). Reproductive incompatibility ofT. platneri andT. minutum is discussed.