The taxonomic history of the family Lecanicephalidae Braun, 1900, a little known group of marine cestodes

Parataenia Linton cannot exist as a cestode genus as it is preoccupied. Discobothrium van Beneden is not a junior synonym of Echeneibothrium van Beneden, and Hornellobothrium Shipley & Hornell and Eniochobothrium Shipley & Hornell are very likely not junior synonyms of Discobothrium. Hexacanalis Perrenoud should be considered a junior synonym of Cephalobothrium Shipley & Hornell. Yogeshwaria Chincholikar & Shinde, Spinocephalum Deshmukh and Flapocephalus Deshmukh are considered unrecognisable. Staurobothrium Shipley & Hornell should be returned to the Phyllobothriidae. Balanobothrium Hornell should remain in the Onchobothriidae Braun. The order Lecanicephalidea was not established by Baylis. There are no grounds for recognising the superfamily Lecanicephaloidea Southwell which contains only the Lecanicephalidae Braun. The elevation of the lecanicephalids to an order, the Lecanicephala, does not appear to be valid. To avoid further confusion the scheme set out by Braun (1900) should be used as a basis for classification of the lecanicephalids.