Three new species of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Plagioporus</Emphasis> Stafford, 1904 from darters (Perciformes: Percidae), with a redescription of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Plagioporus boleosomi</Emphasis> (Pearse, 1924) Peters, 1957

A form of Plagioporus Stafford, 1904 is described from the intestine of three North American species of darters (Perciformes: Percidae) from River West Twin, Wisconsin, USA, that we consider to be conspecific with Plagioporus boleosomi (Pearse, 1924) Peters, 1957 based on similarities in the sucker ratio, extent of the forebody, shape and position of the testes, vitellarium distribution and terminal genitalia. Three new species of Plagioporus are described from the intestine of darters as follows: Plagioporus fonti n. sp. from Percina nigrofasciata Agassiz in Florida, USA, Plagioporus limus n. sp. from Etheostoma squamosum Distler in Arkansas, USA and Plagioporus aliffi n. sp. from Etheostoma blennioides newmanni Miller in Arkansas, USA. Morphologically Plagioporus fonti n. sp., Plagioporus limus n. sp. and Plagioporus aliffi n. sp. are most similar to one another and to P. boleosomi, Plagioporus lepomis Dobrovolny, 1939 and ‘P. etheostomae’, a nomen nudum for a species described from Etheostoma blennioides Rafinesque in Kentucky, USA, all of which are collectively distinguished from congeners in having a combination of confluent vitellarium in the post-testicular space and absence of vitelline follicles with their entire length distributed in the forebody. Plagioporus fonti n. sp., P. limus n. sp. and P. aliffi n. sp. are respectively distinguished from one another and their closest congeners in having the anterior extent of the vitellarium in the anterior half of forebody to slightly anterior to the ventral sucker as opposed to one approximately at the level of the posterior margin of the ventral sucker, possession of an excretory vesicle reaching the anterior testis as opposed to one only reaching the posterior testis and having a longer than wide oral sucker and a wider than long ventral sucker. A Bayesian inference (BI) analysis of partial 28S rDNA sequences was conducted using the three new species and 24 sequences of opecoelids retrieved from GenBank, including ten species of Plagioporus. Plagioporus aliffi n. sp., Plagioporus fonti n. sp. and P. boleosomi comprised a moderately supported sister group to a clade containing all species of Plagioporus except Plagioporus limus n. sp. and Plagioporus shawi (Mcintosh, 1939) Margolis, 1970. Plagioporus limus and in turn P. shawi were resolved as sister to all other congeners with high and moderate support, respectively.     

A new species of Plagioporus (Caudotestis) tyrrhenicus sp.n. and its 2 new parasitologic findings in Blennius pavo Risso, 1810]

In a survey of the helminth parasites of Blennius pavo Risso, 1810 three different species of digenea were collected. Plagioporus (Caudotestis) tyrrhenicus sp.n. is described, figured and compared with other species of the subgenus Plagioporus (Caudotestis) Issaitchikov, 1928. Plagioporus (Caudotestis) tyrrhenicus differs from P. (Caudotestis) azurionis Yamaguti, 1951 in the position of cirrus sac, in sucker ratio and size of the eggs; from P. (Caudotestis) sinitzini Mueller, 1934 for extent of excretory bladder and size of the eggs; from P. (Caudotestis) synagris Yamaguti, 1952 for size of the pharynx and oesophagus, extent of the vitellaria and size of the eggs. Lepocreadium album (Stossich, 1890) Stossich, 1904 is redescribed, figured and recorded for the first time in Blennius pavo. Deretrema sp. is figured and recorded for the first time in the same host.     

Allopodocotyle chiliticorum n. sp. (Digenea: Opecoelidae) from redlip shiners, Notropis chiliticus, in Basin Creek, North Carolina

Allopodocotyle chiliticorum n. sp. is described from the intestines of redlip shiners (Notropis chiliticus) from Basin Creek, North Carolina. The new species is characterized by circumcecal vitelline fields that are not confluent in the post-testicular space, which distinguishes it from the 3 previously known species of this genus described from freshwater fishes. The new species is characterized further by an elongate vitelline reservoir lying dorsal to the ovary, an ovary as large or larger than the testes, and an excretory vesicle not reaching the posterior testis. A. chiliticorum n. sp. most closely resembles Allopodocotyle lepomis (Dobrovolny, 1939) in body shape, testes shape, and terminal genitalia but is distinguished further from this species by the extent of the intestinal ceca. The new species is the fourth species of Allopodocotyle known from freshwater fishes in North America.     

Macvicaria taksengi n. sp. (Digenea: Opecoelidae) in marine teleosts from Pinang,Malaysia

Summary A new species, Macvicaria taksengi (Opecoelidae: Plagioporinae), is described from the fishes Otolithes ruber and Sillago sihama from Pinang, Malaysia. It differs from most other members of the genus in the position of the ovary relative to the testes and the anterior position of the genital pore. A brief discussion on the Indo-West Pacific forms of the genus Macvicaria and related genera includes references to several new combinations: M. [Lebouria] isaitschikowi (Layman, 1930), M. [Plagioporus] sillagonis (Yamaguti, 1938), M. [Plagioporus] chrysophrys (Nagaty & Abdel Aal, 1969) and M. [Plagioporus (Plagioporus)] longisaccus (Fischthal & Kuntz, 1964).     

Resurrection and emendation of Pseudoparamacroderoides Gupta & Agrawal, 1968 (Digenea: Macroderoididae), description of a new species from Vietnam,and comments on the systematics of macroderoidid genera

We herein resurrect and emend Pseudoparamacroderoides Gupta & Agrawal, 1968 (Digenea: Macroderoididae) and describe a new species, Pseudoparamacroderoides dongthapensis n. sp., from adult specimens infecting the intestine of a riverine catfish, Mystus mysticetus Roberts, (Siluriformes: Bagridae) in the Mekong River, Vietnam. Pseudoparamacroderoides (Pseudoparamacroderoides seenghali Gupta & Agrawal, 1968 [type species]; Pseudoparamacroderoides vittati Kakaji, 1969 [= Ps. vittatusi]; Pseudoparamacroderoides raychaudhurii Agarwal & Kumar, 1983; and Pseudoparamacroderoides keni Agarwal & Agarwal, 1984) differs from other macroderoidid genera by having the combination of a subspherical oral sucker that lacks distinctly-enlarged circumoral spines; caeca that extend posteriad beyond the testes without forming a cyclocoel; testes that are approximately ≤1/3 maximum body width in diameter; a cirrus sac that is claviform, slightly dorsal to and predominantly lateral to the ventral sucker (cirrus sac partially dorsolateral to dextral or sinistral margin of ventral sucker); symmetrical vitelline fields that extend posteriad to the middle of the post-testicular space (not restricted to the inter-gonadal space) and that remain separate (not confluent) anteriorly and posteriorly; and an excretory vesicle that is I-shaped (with or without anterior swelling) and wholly post-ovarian, inter-testicular, or median to the posterior testis. Pseudoparamacroderoides dongthapensis n. sp. differs from its congeners by having an elongate hindbody (>2× forebody length) and an excretory vesicle that is approximately half as long as the body and that extends anteriad beyond the anterior testis. This is the first record of a species of Pseudoparamacroderoides from beyond the Indian sub-continent, from M. mysticetus, and from the Mekong River or from Vietnam. A diagnostic key to macroderoidid genera and a key to Pseudoparamacroderoides spp. are provided.

     

Opecoelidae (Digenea) from western Mediterranean fishes: three rare species

Three little-known opecoelid digeneans from marine fishes off Corsica, France, are redescribed and their relationships discussed. Plagioporus novella Maillard & Lambert, 1978 from Conger conger is transferred to Podocotyle as P. novella (Maillard & Lambert, 1978) n. comb. The new combinations Podocotyle tohei (Yamaguti, 1970) and P. congeri (Yamaguti, 1970) are formed for species originally assigned to Plagioporus. Podocotyle temensis Fischthal & Thomas, 1970 from Epinephelus guaza is redescribed and compared with the other Podocotyle species reported from the Mediterranean. A third species, Pseudopecoeloides chloroscombri (Fischthal & Thomas, 1970) n. comb. (was Podocotyloides), is redescribed from three Trachurus species and a key to the species of this Pseudopecoeloides is given.     

Littorellicola billhawkinsi n. gen., n. sp. (Digenea: Aporocotylidae) from the myocardial lacunae of Florida pompano, Trachinotus carolinus (Carangidae) in the Gulf of Mexico; with a comment on the interrelationships and functional morphology of intertrabecular aporocotylids

Littorellicola billhawkinsi n. gen., n. sp. infects the myocardial lacunae of the ventricle and atrium of Florida pompano, Trachinotus carolinus in the northern Gulf of Mexico. It differs from other aporocotylid genera by the combination of having a body 10–30× longer than wide, a posterolateral body protuberance, lateral spine rows, an aspinous anterior sucker comprising a slightly muscular rim circumscribing the mouth, asymmetrical posterior ceca 14–20× length of the anterior ceca and lacking diverticula or secondary rami, tens of testes distributing in a cobblestone-like field anterior and posterior to the distal ends of the posterior ceca, an oviducal seminal receptacle comprising the distal portion of the oviduct, and a post-cecal ovary plus by lacking rosethorn-shaped spines, a pharynx, and a Laurer's canal. The new species appears host specific to Florida pompano because no conspecific infection was detected in 134 carangids of 8 species in 4 genera captured nearby the type locality. Psettarium sebastodorum Holmes, 1971 is transferred to the new genus, as Littorellicola sebastodorum (Holmes, 1971) n. comb., because it and the new species differ from species of Psettarium by the combination of having multiple testes plus 8 other features detailed herein. This report brings the number of nominal Gulf of Mexico aporocotylids to 12 species of 8 genera, represents only the second record of an aporocotylid from a carangid there, and supports the notion that elongated, “thread-like” aporocotylids with lateral spine rows are seemingly well-adapted for infecting myocardial lacunae or embedding in the myocardium of their definitive fish hosts.     

Tormopsolus attenuatus n. sp. (Digenea: Acanthocolpidae) from Seriola hippos (Perciformes: Carangidae), Western Australia,with some observations on the relationships in the genus

A new acanthocolpid, Tormopsolus attenuatus n. sp., is described from the carangid Seriola hippos from waters off the coast of SW Australia. A cladistic analysis of the genus using 31 morphological and metrical characters indicates that the closest species is T. asiatica Parukhin, 1976 status amend. (previously T. orientalis asiatica). T. attenuatus differs from T. asiatica in its smaller overall dimensions, more attenuated outline, relatively shorter post-testicular region, vitelline interruption at the level of the ovary, papillae on the oral sucker and, possibly, much longer genital atrium. Other similar species, T. orientalis Yamaguti, 1934 and T. medius Reimer, 1983, differ in having interruptions of the vitelline fields at the level of both testes and at the level of the ovary.     

Petasiger oschmarini n. sp. (Digenea: Echinostomatidae) in the grebes Podiceps grisegena (Bod.) and P. auritus (L.) (Aves: Podicipedidae) from Kamchatka,Russia

A re-examination of three sets of trematodes collected in two species of grebes, Podiceps grisegena and P. auritus, from the Kamchatka region of eastern Russia, previously identified as Petasiger neocomense, revealed that they actually represent a new species, which is named Petasiger oschmarini. Characteristic morphological features of the new species include: a head collar possessing a constant number of 19 spines; a large cirrus-sac comparable in size to the ventral sucker, containing a bipartite seminal vesicle and a well-developed pars prostatica; a large bulb-like cirrus similar in size to the testes; a long forebody; a long oesophagus; testes situated obliquely or symmetrically; and lateral vitelline fields which are not confluent in the forebody. The new species is distinguished from all Palaearctic and Nearctic members of Petasiger which possess 19 collar spines. The material described by Oschmarin (1950) as P. neocomense is considered to be conspecific.     

Species of Lepidapedon Stafford, 1904 (Digenea: Lepidapedidae) from deep-sea fishes in the Western Mediterranean: molecular and morphological evidence

Systematic Parasitology - The species diversity of Lepidapedon Stafford, 1904 (Lepidapediae) in the Western Mediterranean was assessed based on samples from five deep-sea gadiform fishes collected...     

Intercontinental distributions,phylogenetic position and life cycles of species of Apharyngostrigea (Digenea,Diplostomoidea) illuminated with morphological,experimental, molecular and genomic data

When subjected to molecular study, species of digeneans believed to be cosmopolitan are usually found to consist of complexes of species with narrower distributions. We present molecular and morphological evidence of transcontinental distributions in two species of Apharyngostrigea Ciurea, 1924, based on samples from Africa and the Americas. Sequences of cytochrome c oxidase I and, in some samples, internal transcribed spacer, revealed Apharyngostrigea pipientis (Faust, 1918) in Tanzania (first known African record), Argentina, Brazil, USA and Canada. Sequences from A. pipientis also match previously published sequences identified as Apharyngostrigea cornu (Zeder, 1800) originating in Mexico. Hosts of A. pipientis surveyed include definitive hosts from the Afrotropic, Neotropic and Nearctic, as well as first and second intermediate hosts from the Americas, including the type host and type region. In addition, metacercariae of A. pipientis were obtained from experimentally infected Poecilia reticulata, the first known record of this parasite in a non-amphibian second intermediate host. Variation in cytochrome c oxidase I haplotypes in A. pipientis is consistent with a long established, wide-ranging species with moderate genetic structure among Nearctic, Neotropic and Afrotropic regions. We attribute this to natural dispersal by birds and find no evidence of anthropogenic introductions of exotic host species. Sequences of CO1 and ITS from adult Apharyngostrigea simplex (Johnston, 1904) from Egretta thula in Argentina matched published data from cercariae from Biomphalaria straminea from Brazil and metacercariae from Cnesterodon decemmaculatus in Argentina, consistent with previous morphological and life-cycle studies reporting this parasite—originally described in Australia—in South America. Analyses of the mitochondrial genome and rDNA operon from A. pipientis support prior phylogenies based on shorter markers showing the Strigeidae Railliet, 1919 to be polyphyletic.     

Cryptocotyle lata (Trematoda: Heterophyidae) Adult from a Korean Raccoon Dog,Nyctereutes procyonoides koreensis

Total 513 heterophyid flukes were collected from a carcass of wild Korean raccoon dog, Nyctereutes procyonoides koreensis, in Korea. With morphological and molecular characteristics, the flukes were identified to Cryptocotyle lata. The adult C. lata were minute, transparent, pentagonal, 522 μm long by 425 μm wide. Ceca extended into post-testicular region. Ventrogenital sac elliptical, 79 μm by 87 μm with genital pore and ventral sucker. Two testes semielliptical and slightly lobed, located in the posterior region, right testis 173 μm by 155 μm, left testis 130 μm by 134 μm. In a phylogenetic tree, the fluke specimen of this study was grouped with C. lata divergent from Cryptocotyle lingua. We report here N. procyonoides koreensis first as a natural definitive host of C. lata.     

The Acanthocolpidae (Digenea) of fishes from the north-east Atlantic: the status of Neophasis Stafford, 1904 (Digenea) and a study of North Atlantic forms

The genus Neophasis is defined. The taxonomic status of the genus is discussed in the light of its life-cycle, hosts and cercarial and adult morphology. It is considered to be closest to the family Acanthocolpidae due to the utilisation of a fish second intermediate host, the form of the cercarial excretory system and, in the adult, the presence of a uterine seminal receptacle and the absence of an external seminal vesicle. The taxonomic value of morphological features are discussed and a key to the north Atlantic species given. The following species are described: Neophasis oculatus (Levinsen) from Myoxocephalus scorpius off West Greenland (type-material), Norway and Denmark, Lycodes esmarkii off NW Scotland and the Faroes, and L. vahli off Newfoundland; N. burti n. sp. (distinguished from N. oculatus by sucker-ratio and testicular configuration) from Myoxocephalus octodecemspinosus off Nova Scotia (type-locality) and New Brunswick, also? immature in Gadus morhua from the Gulf of St. Lawrence; N. anarrhichae (Nicoll) from Anarhichas lupus in the North Sea and off the Faroes; and N. pusilla Stafford from A. lupus off ‘eastern Canada’ (type-material) and Nova Scotia. The only other species in the genus is N. symmetrorchis Machida from the NW Pacific Ocean.     

Effect of the Juvenile Hormone Analog,Fenoxycarb on Termination of Reproductive Diapause in Scotinophara lurida (Burmeister) (Heteroptera: Pentatomidae)

This study was carried out to investigate a role of the juvenile hormone analog, fenoxycarb (FC) in terminating the reproductive diapause in the black rice bug, Scotinophara lurida (Burmeister) (Heteroptera: Pentatomidae). FC-treated adults collected at different dates developed their ovaries sooner than untreated ones. Topical application of FC accelerated diapause termination of field-collected S. lurida in which FC-treated adults exhibited early oviposition. In FC-treated males, development of their accessory glands and testes accelerated appeared to be prompted. These results suggest that various physiological overwintering traits related to diapause in this species may in part be under gonadotrophic endocrine control.     

A new species of the bristletail genus Pedetontus silv. (Thysanura, Machilidae) from Thailand

A new bristletail species, Pedetontus phuketi sp. n., is described from Phuket Island, Thailand. It is most similar to P. hainanensis Yu, Zhang W.-W. et Zhang J.-Y., 2010 described from Hainan Island (China). The genus Pedetontus comprises 33 described species in two subgenera: Pedetontus s. str. (6 species) and Verhoeffilis (27 species). The subgenus Verhoeffilis has originated in the southeastern part of the Palaearctic Region. Its representatives migrated to North America in the Paleocene through the Bering Land Bridge which was sunken in the Eocene, so that the Nearctic centre of Pedetontus speciation became isolated and the subgenus Pedetontus s. str. has been formed. The Bering Land Bridge was formed at the end of the Miocene, and the backward migration of bristletails of the subgenus Pedetontus s. str. from the Nearctic to the Palaearctic occurred. Pedetontus palaearcticus was formed on Kamchatka. The southward migration of bristletails of the subgenus Verhoeffilis has led to formation of 10 Indo-Malayan species.     

Morphometric and molecular characterisation of specimens of Lepidapedon Stafford, 1904 (Digenea: Lepidapedidae) from the deep-sea fish Mora moro (Risso) (Teleostei: Moridae) in the western Mediterranean

In a study of the parasites of the deep-sea fish Mora moro (Risso) (Gadiformes: Moridae) off the Mediterranean coasts of Catalonia and the Balearic Islands (Spain), we were able to distinguish two morphs of specimens belonging to Lepidapedon Stafford, 1904 (Digenea: Lepidapedidae). This material is herein described and illustrated. Comparative sequence analyses using partial mitochondrial nad1 sequences revealed that the material assigned to one of these morphs can be considered conspecific with the material identified as Lepidapedon desclersae Bray & Gibson, 1995 from the same host. However, the published nad1 sequence for L. desclersae was generated from a specimen ex M. moro from the North East Atlantic. Examination of the voucher specimens associated with this sequence revealed that both the North East Atlantic and the Mediterranean specimens ex M. moro differ from L. desclersae as described from its type-host, Lepidion eques (Günther), in the anterior extent of the vitelline fields which is further posterior, reaching only to the posterior margin of the external seminal vesicle in L. desclersae, versus being at the mid-level of this organ and reaching the posterior margin of the ventral sucker. Therefore, we have tentatively assigned the material characterised here, both morphologically and molecularly as Lepidapedon sp. Acquisition of additional sequences for both nad1 mitochondrial and 28S rRNA genes of L. desclersae from material ex Lepidion spp. is required in order to determine whether the observed morphometric variation reflects host-related or inter-specific differences. The second morph of Lepidapedon from M. moro is described and distinguished on morphometric grounds, such as the position of the most anterior vitelline follicles, which reach to the anterior margin of the ventral sucker. Its identity is commented upon, but, in view of the fact that there were few specimens and no molecular data available, it is not named.     

Fellodistomidae and Zoogonidae (Digenea) of deep-sea fishes of the NW Atlantic Ocean

The following species are described from fishes in deep-waters of the northwestern Atlantic Ocean: Fellodistomidae: Steringophorus furciger from Antimora rostrata, Coryphaenoides (Lionurus) carapinus, Lycenchelys paxillus, L. verrillii and Lycodes atlanticus; S. blackeri from Xenodermichthys copei, S. haedrichi n. sp. from Porogadus milesi, characterised by its lobate testes, sucker-ratio and long vitelline fields Megenteron crassum from Dicrolene intronigra; Zoogonidae: Brachyenteron rissoanum n. sp. from Polyacanthonotus rissoanus, characterised by the ovary position, the saccular seminal vesicle, the marginal genital pore and egg-size; Koiea notacanthi n. g., n. sp. from Notacanthus (?) chemnitzi, characterised by the Y-shaped excretory vesicle and the posteriorly placed testes.     

Mesocriconema ornicauda n. sp. and Ogma floridense n. sp. (Nematoda: Criconematidae) from Two Florida Habitats

Mesocriconema ornicauda n. sp. and Ogma floridense n. sp. are described from two native habitats of central and northwestern Florida. Mesocriconema ornicauda is closest to M. annulatiforme (De Grisse &Loof, 1967) Loof &De Grisse, 1989, but differs by the shorter stylet of the female (43-50 vs. 54-65 μm) and the moderately conoid tail of the male, which is pointed in M. annulatiforme. Ogma floridense is closest to O. hungaricum (Andrassy, 1972) Siddiqi, 1986. Females differ from those of O. hungaricum by the first of two labial annuli being wider, whereas they are subequal in O. hungaricum. Ogma floridense females differ also by entire or bifid cuticular scales, which are consistently divided into two or four projections in O. hungaricum, the shorter body (360-471 vs. 480-550 μm), the shorter stylet (87-98 vs. 95-100 μm), and the more anteriorly located excretory pore (Rex = 17-19 vs. 21-23).     

<Emphasis Type="Italic">Allassogonoporus dromiciops</Emphasis> n. sp. (Digenea: Allassogonoporidae) from <Emphasis Type="Italic">Dromiciops gliroides</Emphasis> (Marsupialia: Microbiotheriidae) in Patagonia,Argentina

A new species of Allassogonoporus Olivier, 1938, from a naturally infected specimen of Dromiciops gliroides, is described. Adults of A. dromiciops n. sp. were recovered from the small intestine. This new species can be distinguished from all other species of the genus by having: the largest body and eggs, a lobed testes and ovary, a Y-shaped excretory vesicle and vitelline follicles beginning at the level of the posterior margin of the oral sucker. This is the first record of a species of Allassogonoporus in South America and the first record of a digenean parasitising D. gliroides.     

Four new species and a new record of Orchidinae (Orchidaceae: Orchideae) from China

Four new species of Orchidaceae from China, Heminium lijiangense, Peristylus fasciculatus, Platanthera milinensis, and Ponerorchis gongshanensis, together with a new country record, Peristylus tenuicallus, are described and illustrated based on morphological and/or phylogenetic analyses. Heminium lijiangense is closely related to H. elisabethae but differs from it by having the dorsal sepal ovate-orbicular and lip mid-lobe distinctly shorter than lateral lobes. P. fasciculatus is close to Peristylus tradescantifolius but is distinguished from it by having several fascicled and straight, root-like tubers (vs. one or two oblongoid tubers), old stems usually persistent, middle lobe of lip narrowly ligulate-lanceolate and half as long as the lateral lobes (vs. middle lobe deltoid, about a third as long as the lateral lobes or less), a raised callus at the base of each lateral lobe (vs. callus absent), spur gradually attenuate toward the apex (vs. spur clavate). Platanthera milinensis is similar to P. stenochila by sharing small green flowers and lip without a spur, but differs in having a creeping rhizome, a corymbose inflorescence, and a broadly ovate and slightly 3-lobed lip. Ponerochis gongshanensis is similar to P. faberi in its small flowers, but differs in having a linear leaf c. 3 mm wide (vs. leaf 5–13 mm wide), in the lip having collar-like raised margins on the sides of the spur entrance, and a mid-lobe which is notched at the apex but not divided into two divergent lobules that are nearly as large as the lateral lobes, as in P. faberi. All the proposed species obtained high support in phylogenetic analysis as new species. The recently described genus Apetalanthe is reduced to synonymy of Ponerorchis and a new combination is made.