Ten new species of Myrsidea Waterston, 1915 parasitic on members of the avian families Formicariidae, Thraupidae, Tyrannidae, Troglodytidae and Icteridae are described herein. They and their type hosts are M. isacantha sp. n. ex Chamaeza nobilis Gould, M. circumsternata sp. n. ex Formicarius colma Boddaert (Formicariidae); M. cacioppoi sp. n. ex Lanio fulvus (Boddaert), M. brasiliensis sp. n. ex Tangara chilensis (Vigors), M. saviti sp. n. ex Tangara schrankii (Spix) (Thraupidae), M. rodriguesae sp. n. ex Cnipodectes subbrunneus (Sclater), M. cnemotriccola sp. n. ex Cnemotriccus fuscatus (Wied-Neuwied), M. lathrotriccola sp. n. ex Lathrotriccus euleri (Cabanis) (Tyrannidae), M. faccioae sp. n. ex Cyphorhinus arada transfluvialis (Todd) (Troglodytidae), and M. lampropsaricola sp. n. ex Lampropsar tanagrinus (Spix) (Icteridae). Among these are two new Myrsidea species described from the avian family Formicariidae, which previously had only a single described Myrsidea species, and a new host record for M. cinnamomei Dalgleish et Price, 2005 ex Attila citriniventris Sclater. Analysis of mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase I sequences for these and other neotropical Myrsidea species provides an assessment of their phylogenetic relationships and indicates that all of these newly described species are genetically distinct. We also put these descriptions into context by estimating the potential number of unnamed Myrsidea species in Brazil, given the known diversity of potential hosts and typical levels of host specificity for Myrsidea species. Our estimate indicates that Brazilian Myrsidea species diversity is likely more than an order of magnitude greater than the number of described Myrsidea species known from Brazil, highlighting the need for future work on this megadiverse ectoparasite genus.
A combined study of morphology, stem anatomy and isozyme patterns was used to reveal the identity of sterile plants from two rivers on the Germany/France border. A detailed morphological examination proved that the putative hybrid is clearly intermediate between Potamogeton natans and P. nodosus. The stem anatomy had characteristics of both species. The most compelling evidence came from the isozyme analysis. The additive “hybrid” banding patterns of the six enzyme systems studied indicate inheritance from P. natans and P. nodosus. In contrast, other morphologically similar hybrids were excluded: P. ×gessnacensis (= P. natans × P. polygonifolius) by all the enzyme systems, P. ×fluitans (= P. lucens × P. natans) by AAT, EST and 6PGDH, and P. ×sparganiifolius (= P. gramineus × P. natans) by AAT and EST. All samples of P. ×schreberi are of a single multi-enzyme phenotype, suggesting that they resulted from a single hybridization event and that the present-day distribution of P. ×schreberi along the Saarland/Moselle border was achieved by means of vegetative propagation and long-distance dispersal. Neither of its parental species occur with P. ×schreberi or are present upstream, which suggests that this hybrid has persisted vegetatively for a long time in the absence of its parents. The total distribution of this hybrid is reviewed and a detailed account of the records from Germany is given. P. ×schreberi appears to be a rare hybrid. The risk of incorrect determination resulting from the identification of insufficiently developed or inadequately preserved plant material is discussed.
Alippistrongylus bicaudatus gen. et sp. n. (Nematoda: Heligmonellidae) is described from the striped Atlantic forest rat, Delomys dorsalis (Hensel) (Rodentia: Sigmodontinae), from the province of Misiones in Argentina. The new genus and species is characterised by a synlophe of 21 unequal ridges in both sexes without a gradient in size, with two ridges weakly sclerotised and oriented perpendicularly in the dorsal left quadrant; males with a highly dissymmetrical bursa with a hypertrophied right lobe, and females with a dorsal conical appendage just posterior to the vulva, conferring a two-tailed appearance to the female worms.
This paper describes Regoella brevis gen. n. et. sp. n. (Proteocephalidea: Monticelliinae), a parasite of the intestine of the barred sorubim Pseudoplatystoma fasciatum (Linnaeus) from the Paraná River basin. The new genus is placed in the Monticelliinae because of the cortical position of the genital organs. It differs from all known genera included in the Monticelliinae by the following combination of characters: 1) a quadrangular scolex with a truncated conical apex and formed by four lobes separated by grooves; 2) uniloculate suckers of inverted triangular shape possessing a small cone-shaped projection at each corner of the anterior margin; 3) strobila consisting of a low number of proglottides; 4) testes arranged in one dorsal field; 5) a cirrus-sac, which represents more than one half of the proglottis width, cirrus surrounded by conspicuous chromophilic gland cells; 6) a butterfly-shaped and strongly lobulate ovary; and 7) formation of uterus of type 2. The examination of the tegument surface with scanning electron microscopy revealed the occurrence of three types of microtriches: acicular and capilliform filitriches and gladiate spinitriches. The new species is the eighth proteocephalidean reported from P. fasciatum, six of which are commonly found in the Amazon and Paraná River basins.
A new genus and species, Avitocaligus assurgericola gen. et sp. n., of the family Caligidae is established based on an ovigerous female collected from a razorback scabbardfish, Assurger anzac (Alexander), caught off New Caledonia. This is the first record of any parasitic copepod from this fish. The new genus is placed in the Caligidae since it possesses the caligid cephalothorax incorporating the first to third pedigerous somites. It also exhibits biramous first and fourth swimming legs but lacks dorsal plates on the fourth pedigerous somite. This combination of characters serves to differentiate the new genus from existing genera. In addition, it possesses loosely coiled, uniseriate egg sacs, concealed between the middle lamellar plates on the genital complex and the ventral plates on the abdomen. Preliminary phylogenetic analysis with a restricted matrix suggests that the new genus represents the earliest offshoot from the main caligid lineage since it does not exhibit the dominant exopod on the fourth swimming leg found in all other members of the Caligidae, including the genus Euryphorus. It strongly supports the newly recognized monophyletic status of the Caligidae, incorporating the genera formerly placed in the Euryphoridae.
A new genus, Alanlewisia, of the family Caligidae is established to accommodate a sea louse species originally, but tentatively, placed in the genus Lepeophtheirus by Lewis (1967). The type species is Alanlewisia fallolunulus (Lewis, 1967) comb. n., which is redescribed in detail based on new material collected from bluespine unicornfish, Naso unicornis (Forsskål), caught off New Caledonia in the South Pacific. This species was originally described by Lewis (1967) under the binomen Lepeophtheirus? fallolunulus from the same host species collected in Hawaii. This species was subsequently transferred to the genus Anuretes by Ho and Lin (2000). Lewis was uncertain of the generic placement primarily because of the possession, in the females only, of paired lunule-like structures on the ventral surface of the modified frontal plates. In both sexes the first swimming leg is biramous, with a well-developed endopod bearing 2 long, sparsely-plumose setae, and the third leg has a 2-segmented exopod. This combination of characters serves to differentiate the new genus from existing genera. Preliminary phylogenetic analysis suggests that the new genus represents an early offshoot from the main caligid lineage, basal to the Paralebion-Tuxophorus-Caligus clade identified by Boxshall and Justine (2005).
Cuculisyringophilus crotophaginus gen. n. et sp. n. is described from the guira cuckoo Guira guira (Gmelin) from Paraguay and also was collected from the groove-billed ani Crotophaga sulcirostris Swainson from Colombia and Mexico. This new genus is closely related to Neoaulobia Fain, Bochkov et Mironov, 2000 but is distinguished by the following characters: propodosomal setae sce are situated distinctly anterior to level of setae d1, leg setae vs'II are absent, apodemes I are divergent.
A new species of tetraphyllidean cestode in the genus Trilocularia is described from an undescribed shark species, Squalus cf. mitsukurii, off the coast of South Africa. Trilocularia eberti sp. n. is the second known member of its genus, and like its congener, T. gracilis (Olsson, 1866-1867) Olsson, 1869, is extremely hyperapolytic, dropping proglottids from its strobila while they are still very immature. Characteristic of the genus, it possesses a distinctive scolex with triloculated bothridia, but differs conspicuously from its congener in its possession of an anterior loculus that is much larger in width relative to the paired posterior loculi, and also in its possession of an anterior, enlarged region of its free proglottids that is triangular with a slit-like ventral aperture, rather than rounded and cup-like. This anterior region of the free proglottid is used in attachment, and its development is described. For assessment of fecundity, an attempt was made to record all free proglottids of all ages found in both host individuals, and yielded an average estimate of 362 free proglottids being produced per individual worm of T. eberti sp. n. Both Trilocularia species parasitize sharks of the genus Squalus, and given the host specificity typically exhibited by tetraphyllideans and preliminary examinations of other members of this shark genus, it is likely that other Squalus species will be found to host additional new Trilocularia species.
A new annual species, Juncus maroccanus, of the section Tenageia, closely allied to Juncus foliosus Desf., is described from N Morocco. It differs from the latter in having smooth, glossy seeds, capsule shorter than perianth and shortly mucronate. The new species is known from a macrolocality in the Ksar-el-Kebir region, where it grows in non-saline sandy seepage sites. Another, much older specimen was collected in 1835 by W. Schimper in the Sinai Peninsula, Egypt. Syntype specimens of Juncus rhiphaenus Pau et Font Quer were examined and found to be conspecific with Juncus foliosus.
A new species of parasitic copepod Anchistrotos tangi sp. n. (Cyclopoida: Taeniacanthidae) is described based on adult female specimens collected from the gills of hilsa shad, Tenualosa ilisha (Hamilton, 1822) (Actinopterygii: Clupeidae) captured off Iraq. The new species differs from its congeners by having the following combination of characters in the adult female: 1) the rostral area sclerotised; 2) the presence of row of spinules on the proximal and distal margins of the anal somite; 3) the maxilliped claw with 2 long whip-like setae just crossing the distal edge of claw with serrated terminal margin; and 4) the leg 5 ornamented with patched spinules distally. This is the ninth nominal species of Anchistrotos Brian, 1906.