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.     

Dipetalonema (Acanthocheilonema) didelphis sp. n. (Nematoda: Filarioidea) from opossums, with a redescription of D. (A.) pricei (Vaz and Pereira 1934)

Dipetalonema (Acanthocheilonema) didelphis sp. n. recovered from the subcutaneous and periesophageal connective tissues of Didelphis virginiana from several localities in the United States and of D. marsupialis from Colombia is described. Dipetalonema didelphis sp. n. resembles D reconditum and D. mansonbahri in size, in lacking a two-segmented buccal capsule, and in the female having a long, digitiform tail. Dipetalonema reconditum, however, has a much longer glandular esophagus and D. mansonbahri has a rounded cephalic extremity delimited by a necklike region. The male of D. didelphis sp. n. differs from both in the structural details of the spicules and in having a higher spicular ratio. The microfilaria is much shorter than that of either D. reconditum or D. mansonbahri. Dipetalonema (A.) pricei adults are redescribed from the paratype specimens, and the microfilaria is also described. Dipetalonema pricei most closely resembles D. dracunculoides in size and in the presence of a well-developed, two-segmented buccal capsule, but the latter species has a much longer glandular esophagus. These two species also differ in the appearance of the spicules.     

Bisbalia vossi n. g., n. sp. (Nematoda: Onchocercidae), a filarial worm from a geomyoid rodent,Heteromys anomalus,in Venezuela

Bisbalia vossi n. g., n. sp. is described from Heteromys anomalus (Rodentia: Geomyoidea: Heteromyidae) in northern Venezuela (Aragua). The filariae were found in a membranous pocket in the pleural cavity, and almost all had ingested red blood cells of their host. The morphology of this onchocercine species is highly evolved (advanced reduction of head and caudal papillae; short undivided oesophagus). Its very short microfilariae (60 m) and the shape of the tail of the female (two terminal median pairs of bosses) suggest that this species could be derived from Ackertia Vaz, 1934, a South American genus parasitic in caviomorph rodents which is related to the Dipetalonema-line, but Ackertia has several pairs of precloacal papillae, which are absent in the new genus. In North America, where the geomyoid rodents originated and diversified, the two previously described filarial species differ from this new material and show affinities with Old World bat parasites (Litomosa van Beneden, 1871).     

Lonchidiopsis setosus n.sp. (Copepoda: Notodelphyidae) from Venezuela

Summary A new species of notodelphid copepod infesting the solitary ascidian Rodosoma turcium (Savigny, 1816) from the Gulf of Cariaco, Venezuela, is described and illustrated. This is the first record of Lonchidiopsis Vanhöffen. 1917, from the Caribbean. ac]19801201     

Skrjabinelazia rizzoi n. sp. (Nematoda: Seuratoidea) from a Sicilian lacertid, with comments on specific and biological diversity in the genus

Skrjabinelazia rizzoi n. sp. (Seuratoidea), from Podarcis sicula captured at Cammarata, Agrigento Province, Sicily, is distinct from the 13 known species of the genus, including Skrjabinelazio sp. Rizzo from Catania. It is identified with the following set of characters: in the male, short spicules and gubernaculum, thin body; in the female, buccal cavity with a crown of leaflets, body cuticle without internal ornamentation, presence of cephalic and caudal vesicles, tail with a terminal digitiform spike 42-48 microm long. The morphology of the new species supports our previous hypothesis of two Skrjabinelazia lineages, one with spicules and one without spicules, respectively linked to Lacertidae and Gekkonidae. In Palearctic lacertids, five named species are presently known, S. taurica from Crimea (Ukraine), S. hoffmanni from Beijing (China), S. pyrenaica from Pyrenees (Spain), S. vozae from Cevennes (France), S. rizzoi from Agrigento Province, Sicily (Italy), but analysis of some published works suggests a greater diversity. S. rizzoi infection, found in April-May in 1/5 lizards, was recent with young females in the host's stomach and intestine, and males in the stomach. One female contained four membranous-shelled eggs. The two other females contained a few hatched infective larvae, membranous-shelled eggs with developing embryos and, unexpectedly at this early stage, a few thick-shelled divided eggs. As in several other Skrjabinelazia species, the progeny of S. rizzoi are adapted for intra-host suprainfection and inter-host transmission, but in this species the production of resistant eggs appears in very young females.     

Dunnifilaria dilli sp. n. (Nematoda: Filarioidea) from Rattus koratensis in Thailand.

Dunnifilaria dilli, a new species of filariid from Rattus koratensis from Thailand is described. Adult worms were recovered from the lymphatic system. They differ from D. ramachandrani in their location in the host, the tail length, the shape of the spicules, and in the number of caudal papillae. Microfilariae are much smaller and unsheathed. Additional hosts include R. rattus and R. sabanus.     

Tetrapetalonema (T.) panamensis (McCoy, 1936) comb. n. (Filarioidea: Onchocercidae) in Colombian primates, with a description of the adults.

Microfilaria panamensis McCoy, 1936 was identified in the blood of Cebus apella, C. capucinus, C. albifrous, and Saguinus oedipus from various regions in Colombia. Adult worms, recovered from the subcutaneous connective tissues of C. apella and S. oedipus, were identified with this microfilaria and are described as Tetrapetalonema (T.) panamensis (McCoy, 1936) comb. n. This nematode is smaller configuration of the female tail and in the appearance of the spicules, and T. barbascalensis which differs in the placement of the vulva relative to the base of the esophagus and in the structure of the right spicule. The spicular ratio of T. panamensis (1.6 to 2.1) is lower than that of any other member of the subgenus (2.6 to 10.8). The host induced and/or geographic variation of microfilariae and adults of T. panamensis is discussed.     

Coscinoderma sporadense sp.n. from the Aegean Sea with comments on Coscinoderma confragosum (Porifera, Dictyoceratida)

Coscinoderma sporadense sp.n. is described from shallow waters in the North Aegean. This is the first record of a Coscinoderma species from the Mediterranean. The new species is compared to the deep water East Atlantic Coscinoderma confragosum Poléjaeff, 1884, and clear differences between them are established. The status of the genus Coscinoderma is discussed.