Lesley R. Smales

ACANTHOCEPHALA IN AMPHIBIANS (ANURA) AND REPTILES (SQUAMATA) FROM BRAZIL AND PARAGUAY WITH DESCRIPTION OF A NEW SPECIES

In a survey of 1,732 amphibians and reptiles collected across São Paulo Province, Brazil, and 7 provinces in Paraguay, 26 species were found infected with acanthocephalans. Of 1,510 anurans, 14 anurans, representing 11 species, were infected with cystacanths of Centrorhynchus spp. and 1 anuran with cystacanths of Oligacanthorhynchus sp. Of 107 lizards, 1 lizard was infected with cystacanths of Centrorhynchus sp. and 1 lizard with cystacanths of Oligacanthorhynchus sp. Acanthocephalus caspanensis was found in 3 anurans (3 species) and Acanthocephalus lutzi in 3 anurans (2 species) and 2 snakes (2 species). The systematic position of A. lutzi cannot be resolved using presently available morphological data. Acanthocephalus saopaulensis n. sp. was found in a single individual of Bufo ictericus. The new species can be differentiated from all its congeners except A. caspanensis in having a sigmoid-shaped male posterior end and from A. caspanensis in having a proboscis armature of 16 rows of 5–7 hooks rather than 18–19 rows of 6–7 hooks and larger eggs. The status of Acanthocephalus and Pseudoacanthocephalus continues to be problematic.

Impact of rain-forest logging on helminth assemblages in small mammals (Muridae, Tupaiidae) from Borneo

Parasites are ubiquitous in wild animals, with host-specific life histories considered as major determinants of prevalence and parasite assemblage patterns. It is predicted that habitat differences in logged rain forests influence population performances of small mammals and consequently may change the infection patterns of local animal populations with regard to endo- and ectoparasites. We investigated patterns of helminth species assemblages (Nematoda, Platyhelminthes) in two rat species ( Leopoldamys sabanus , Niviventer cremoriventer ) and two tree shrew species ( Tupaia tana , T. longipes ) in three logged and three unlogged rain forests in Borneo by examining 337 faecal samples with non-invasive faecal egg count (FEC). Nematode eggs prevailed in 95% of all samples with up to five (mean 1.9 ± 1.1) morphotypes. Whereas members of Strongylida were most prevalent in L. sabanus , T. tana and T. longipes , Spirurida dominated in N. cremoriventer that revealed at the same time the lowest average nematode prevalence and FEC. Cestode eggs were only found in L. sabanus and T. tana . Composition and abundance patterns of the parasitic helminth assemblages were influenced by logging. As hypothesized, species richness of nematode morphotypes and mean number of infections per host of T. longipes were larger in logged than in unlogged forest. In contrast, L. sabanus was more heavily infected with cestodes in unlogged than in logged forest and also revealed larger egg counts for strongylids and spirurids in unlogged forest. Our results suggest that forest degradation and altered environmental conditions influence helminth diversity and infection patterns of small mammals with contrasting trends among host species. The inconsistent logging-induced changes in helminth assemblages from different hosts indicate that specific sets of habitat-host-parasite interactions are uniquely influenced by the effects of logging. Consequently, predictions on changes of parasite diversity and prevalence with regard to habitat disturbance need to be based on the individual life histories of the hosts (and the parasites).

The avian acanthocephalan Plagiorhynchus cylindraceus (Palaeacanthocephala) parasitizing the European hedgehog (Erinaceus europaeus) in Europe and New Zealand.

The palaeacanthocephalan Plagiorhynchus cylindraceus is a common intestinal parasite of passerine birds, which can also occur parenterally or in the intestinal tract of mammals, often as an invading species in many countries worldwide. In this survey, introduced hedgehogs (Erinaceus europaeus, n = 183) killed in New Zealand during a biocontrol campaign and conspecifics (n = 174) that had died in hedgehog rehabilitation centers in Germany and Britain were examined for this parasite. In New Zealand, P. cylindraceus is recorded for the first time here, in the vicinity of Auckland. In Europe, prevalences ranged from 4.2% up to 47.6%, while in New Zealand, only 1.6% (Auckland 7.9%). Most of the worms occurred inside the peritoneal cavity where they had partly degenerated. Since hedgehogs are seldom preyed upon in continental Europe but often become traffic victims, we hypothesize that the worms inside them, whether extra- or intraperitoneally, contribute to the abundance and persistence of the parasite by being ingested by scavenging birds. Accordingly, we consider P. cylindraceus as a “modern parasite” taking advantage of two aspects of global change: anthropogenic promoted transmission (road kills) and the transcontinental spread of infected intermediate and/or final hosts caused by humans.

Helminth Parasite Communities of the Water-rat, Hydromys chrysogaster, from Queensland

The helminth fauna from 124 water-rats, Hydromys chrysogaster, collected from 33 localities in Queensland was analysed. A total of 45 species of helminths was found, comprising 2 acanthocephalans, 2 cestodes, 13 nematodes and 28 trematodes. The helminth community of the water-rats in the region north of latitude 18˚ (far north) was different from that of water-rats south of 18˚ (central); Sorensen’s Index 45·8% similarity, whereas Holmes and Podesta’s Index gave 32·1% similarity. Comparisons with data from water-rats from southern and Tasmanian regions showed that they were different from each other and from both Queensland regions. The helminth communities were characterised by high diversity, dominated by trematodes in the central and Tasmanian regions, but with nematodes becoming more prominent in the far northern and southern regions. No core or secondary species were found in the Queensland helminth communities, the southern community was suggestive of a bimodal distribution and the Tasmanian had two core species. A checklist of helminth species occurring in water-rats from eastern Australia is provided.

A redescription of Protospirura muricola Gedoelst, 1916 (Nematoda: Spiruridae), a parasite of murid rodents.

The spirurid nematode Protospirura muricola Gedoelst, 1916 is redescribed from Acomys dimidiatus (Desmarest) from the St Katherine Protectorate, Sinai, Egypt. Egyptian material closely resembled specimens of P. muricola from African mammals re-examined in this study, as well as conforming to published reports of this species. P. muricola with two denticles on each lateral lobe of the pseudolabia and six pairs of postanal papillae is closest to P. pseudomuris Yokohata & Abe, 1989, but can be readily distinguished in having the right spicule shorter than the left. The significance of the characteristics of the head and mouth, and of the male spicules, in characterising Protospirura Seurat, 1914 is evaluated. P. muricola, an African parasite of rodents, appears to have spread globally with synanthropic rat final hosts and possibly with the cosmopolitan dermapteran intermediate host Leucophaea maderae (Fabr.).

Polymorphidae (Acanthocephala) from Australian mammals with descriptions of two new species

SummaryCorynosoma stanleyi n. sp. from Hydromys chrysogaster Geoffroy, 1804, in coastal Tasmania and Victoria, Australia, is described. It differs from other Corynosoma spp. chiefly in the size of proboscis hooks, arrangement of spines over the body surface and spination around the genital aperture. C. australe (Johnston, 1937) is redescribed. Corynosoma sp. is recorded from Neophoca cinerea (Péron & Leseuer, 1816). Polymorphus arctocephali n. sp. is described from Arctocephalus pusillus doriferus (Schreber, 1776) Jones, 1925 from Victorian waters. It differs from other members of the genus chiefly in the length of proboscis, proportions of proboscis hooks and the arrangement of spines on the trunk. The generic status of Polymorphus cetaceum and P. arctocephali is discussed. ac]19840615

A taxonomic revision of Labiostrongylus (Labiostrongylus) (Yorke & Maplestone, 1926) and Labiostrongylus (Labiomultiplex) n. subg. (Nematoda: Cloacinidae) from macropodid and potoroid marsupials

The morphological characters used to differentiate species in the genus Labiostrongylus Yorke & Maplestone, 1926, parasitic in macropodid and potoroid marsupials, are discussed. The genus is divided into three subgenera Labiostrongylus (Labiostrongylus), L. (Labiomultiplex) n. subg. and L. (Labiosimplex) n. subg. on the basis of the presence or absence of interlabia and the morphology of the oesophagus. A key to the subgenera is given and a detailed revision of two of the subgenera is presented. Keys to each of the subgenera are given, the species discussed being: L. (L.) labiostrongylus) (type-species) (syn. L. (L.) insularis, L. (L.) grandis, L. (L.) macropodis sp. inq. and L. (L.) nabarlekensis n. sp., in the subgenus Labiostrongylus, and L. (Lm.) eugenii, L. (Lm.) novaeguineae, L. (Lm.) onychogale, L. (Lm.) uncinatus, L. (Lm.) billardierii n. sp., L. (Lm.) constrictis n. sp., L. (Lm.) kimberleyensis n. sp., L. (Lm.) thylogale n. sp., and L. (Lm.) potoroi, n. sp., in the subgenus Labiomultiplex.

The Gastrointestinal Helminths of Lorentzimys nouhuysi (Rodentia: muridae) with Descriptions of Two New Genera and Three New Species (Nematoda) From Papua New Guinea

Abstract Helminths, 3 cestode and 8 nematode species, including 2 new genera, 5 new species, and 1 putative new species, of nematode were collected from the digestive tracts of 23 Lorentzimys nouhuysi (Murinae; Hydromyini) from Papua New Guinea. Odilia wauensis n. sp. (Heligmonellidae) most closely resembles Odilia mallomyos Hasegawa and Syafruddin, 1994, but differs from this species in the detail of the synlophe ridges, the length and tip shape of the spicules, the absence of a gubernaculum, and the size of the eggs. Papuastrongylus kishinamiae n. gen., n. sp. differs from all other genera in the Herpetostrongylidae in the form of the synlophe and spicules, the lack of a gubernaculum, and in being monodelphic. Syphacia lorentzimyos n. sp. and Syphacia mamelonitenuis n. sp. (Oxyuridae) differ from all other species in having a circular cephalic plate and from each other in that S. mamelonitenuis lacks lateral alae. Lorentzicola woolleyae n. gen., n. sp. differs from all other genera in the Oxyuridae (Syphaciini) in having the peribuccal wall with denticles, a simple esophagus, and males with 3 mamelons of the Syphacia type. The helminth assemblage of L. nouhuysi did not resemble that of any other hydromyin rodent from the region studied thus far.

Three New Species of Syphacia (Syphacia) (Oxyurida: Oxyuridae) from Queensland, Australia, and a Key to the Species Present in the Australian Bioregion

Abstract Three new species of Syphacia Seurat 1916 (Oxyurida: Oxyuridae) are described from rodents (Rodentia: Muridae) in Queensland, Australia. Syphacia (Syphacia) helidonensis n. sp. from Pseudomys gracilicaudatus (Gould 1845) can be distinguished from all other species by a suite of characters including an oval-shaped cephalic plate, elongated laterally with dorso-ventral constriction at the level of laterally placed amphids and cephalic papillae, lateral but not cervical alae, and a single pair of postanal papillae. Syphacia (Syphacia) boodjamullaensis n. sp. from Zyzomys argurus (Thomas, 1889) also has an oval-shaped cephalic plate, elongated laterally with dorso-ventral constriction at the level of laterally placed amphids and cephalic papillae, a single pair of postanal papillae, neither cervical nor lateral alae, and spicule 77 µm long. Syphacia (Syphacia) carnarvonensis n. sp. from Pseudomys delicatulus (Gould, 1842) with an oval-shaped cephalic plate, elongated laterally with dorso-ventral constriction at level of laterally placed amphids and cephalic papillae and a single pair of postanal papillae, also has both cervical and lateral alae, small body size, males 690–865 µm, and eggs 77–86 µm long, 24–29 µm wide. A key to the species of Syphacia from the Australian Bioregion is given, and the potential for as yet undiscovered species in the region is discussed.

An electrophoretic and morphological analysis of Labiostrongylus (Labiomultiplex) uncinatus (Nematoda: Cloacinidae), with the description of a new species, L. contiguus, from Macropus parryi (Marsupialia: Macropodidae)

An electrophoretic study was conducted on Labiostrongylus (Labiomultiplex) uncinatus, nematodes that occur in the stomachs of two species of Australian macropodid, Macropus dorsalis and M. parryi. The allelic profiles of these nematodes were compared to those of a morphologically distinct species, L. (Lm.) billardierii, which infests Thylogale billardierii. Nematodes were genetically characterized at 17 enzymes encoding a presumptive 18 loci. The results revealed the existence of two species, one in M. dorsalis and the other in M. parryi, that had fixed genetic differences at 72% of loci. This level of fixed difference between these species is equivalent to that when each is compared to L. billardierii (87–89%). The new species in M. parryi, Labiostrongylus contiguus n. sp., is described herein. A morphological comparison with L. uncinatus revealed slight but consistent differences in the morphology of their anterior end; namely, rectangular rather than conical shaped lateral lips, small inconspicuous, not larger hook-shaped cephalic papillae, and convex rather than flat floor of the buccal capsule for L. (Lm.) contiguus as compared with L. (Lm.) uncinatus. Differentiation of L. contiguus from L. uncinatus is more clearly demonstrated by biochemical characters than morphological ones.