A NEW CARYOPHYLLID CESTODE PSEUDOLYTOCESTUS JAGDISHII N.SP. FROM HETEROPNEUSTES FOSSILIS

A new cestode, Pseudolytocestus jagdishii n.sp. is described here from the intestine of fresh water catfishes, Heteropneustes fossilis at Muhana, District Jalaun, Uttar Pradesh, India. After morphological study of worm we reach on the conclusion that present species differs from all known species of genus Pseudolytocestus in the presence of larger worms, short neck, internal seminal vesicle, larger ovary lobes with equal wings and other characters.

A new genus and species of the Dasybatotreminae Bychowsky, 1957 (Monogenea: Monocotylidae), parasitic on Hypanus dipterurus (Jordan & Gilbert) (Myliobatiformes: Dasyatidae) in the Southeastern Pacific Ocean off Peru

Peruanocotyle n. gen. is proposed to accommodate Peruanocotyle chisholmae n. sp. (Monogenea: Monocotylidae). The new species is a gill parasite of the diamond stingray, Hypanus dipterurus (Jordan & Gilbert) (Myliobatiformes: Dasyatidae), a demersal chondrichthyan collected off the coast of Callao, Peru. Peruanocotyle n. gen. is placed in the Dasybatotreminae Bychowsky, 1957 because its anterior attachment organ has multiple glandular openings. Peruanocotyle chisholmae n. gen., n. sp. is unique among the Dasybatotreminae, by having: a well-developed, broadly ovoid anterior attachment organ with numerous grooves and an anteromedial notch; three prominent anterior glands that are connected to numerous peripheral glands; an unusual whip-shaped male copulatory organ composed of four connate tubes; an ejaculatory duct with slightly sclerotized walls where the proximal end has criss-crossed creases and the distal portion is highly convoluted; an ejaculatory bulb with one bipartite internal seminal vesicle; a wheel-shaped haptor with one central loculus and eight peripheral loculi; anchors that are much shorter than the width of marginal membrane and have an accessory sclerotized piece present; four oval testes, arranged in two groups; an ovary that has six clavate, proximal lobules and a distal portion that is strongly coiled; intestinal ceca with large lateral and medial diverticula; an oral opening surrounded by numerous small dome-like papillae; and a single vagina with sclerotized walls. Dasybatotreminae is amended to accommodate the new genus, and the new species is fully described and illustrated herein. The present finding adds to the other three marine monocotylids previously reported from Peru, namely Anoplocotyloides chorrillensis Luque & Iannacone, 1991; Anoplocotyloides papillatus (Doran, 1953) Young, 1967 and Monocotyle luquei Chero, Cruces, Iannacone, Sanchez, Minaya, Sáez & Alvariño, 2016.

New data on the morphology and phylogenetic connections of Postlepidapedon opisthobifurcatum (Trematoda, Lepocreadioidea: Lepidapedidae), a parasite of Antarctic and sub-Antarctic fishes

Summary The trematode Postlepidapedon opisthobifurcatum (Zdzitowiecki, 1990) is a common intestinal parasite of the gadiform fishes of the Southern Ocean. In this work, we supplement the description of the species with the anatomy of the terminal part of the reproductive system and with molecular data. The male terminal genitalia are characterised by the presence of the external seminal vesicle and cirrus-sac. The external seminal vesicle is surrounded by aciniform groups of outer prostatic cells. Groups of outer prostatic cells and proximal parts of their ducts are associated with a thin-walled membrane that is connected to the proximal edge of the cirrus-sac. The cirrus-sac is claviform, with a long proximal part accommodating the tubular, thin-walled internal seminal vesicle and ducts of outer prostatic cells. The female terminal genitalia are represented by a thick-walled metraterm, which is surrounded by aciniform groups of glandular cells. Phylogenetic analysis based on 28S rDNA partial sequences data placed P. opisthobifurcatum into the monophyletic group Lepidapedidae, including the species Myzoxenus insolens (Crowcroft, 1945), Intusatrium robustum Durio et Manter, 1968, and Postlepidapedon uberis Bray, Cribb et Barker, 1997. However, we were unable to detect direct phylogenetic connections between P. opisthobifurcatum and P. uberis.

Study of Caryophyllidean (Capingentidae: Pseudobatrachus) tapeworms of fresh water fishes of Bundelkhand region of Madhya Pradesh, India: Part-III

Presently eight species are reported from the World in the genus, Pseudobatrachus, Pathak and Srivastav, 2005 i.e. P. chandrai Pathak and Srivastav, 2005; P. moolchandrai Srivastav et al, 2006; P. chandlaensis Sahu, 2007; P. madhyapradeshensis, Khare, 2008; P. chhatrasali Sahu et al, 2009; P. Sengarii Singh, 2009; P. kenensis Srivastav et al, 2010 and P. ramchandrai, Srivastav and Aditya, 2010. The present form is the ninth one from the Indian subcontinent as well as from the whole world and differs on the basis of various morphometric character viz. size of worm, size and shape of scolex, presence of bothridea and grooved rostellum, size of neck, size and number of testes, size of cirrus pouch, presence of internal seminal vesicle, size of ovary and shape of ovarian lobes, size of vitellaria and their distribution, presence of receptaculum seminis, size of uterus, size and type of eggs and their hosts. The caryophyllidean is unique among cestoidea in having monopleuroide body plane, i.e. without internal or external proglottidization and with a single set of reproductive organ. Thus it is provisionally accommodated as P. ramsagarensis n. sp.

NO nerves in a tapeworm. NADPH-diaphorase histochemistry in adult Hymenolepis diminuta

SUMMARYThe free radical nitric oxide (NO), which is synthesized by nitric oxide synthase (NOS), has recently been discovered to function as a neuronal messenger. The presence of NOS was detected in the nervous system of adult Hymenolepis diminuta with NADPH-diaphorase (NADPH-d) histochemistry. The NADPH-d histochemical reaction is regarded as a selective marker for NOS in neuronal tissue. NADPH-d staining was observed in nerve fibres in the main and minor nerve cords and the transverse ring commissures, and in cell bodies in the brain commissure, along the main nerve cords, in the suckers and the rostellar sac. NADPH-d staining was also observed in the wall of the internal seminal vesicle and the genital atrium. The pattern of NADPH-d staining was compared with that of the 5-HT immunoreactive nervous elements. The NADPH-d staining reaction and the 5-HT immunoreactivity occur in separate sets of neurons. This is the first time the NADPH-d reaction has been demonstrated in the nervous system of a flatworm, indicating that NOS is present and that NO can be produced at this level of evolution.

Six platyhelminths from Malaysian reptiles including Paradistomoidella cerberi n.g., n.sp. (Digenea: Dicrocoeliidae)

Paradistomoidella cerberi n.g, n.sp. and Paracanthostomum cerberi from Cerberus rhynchops, Xenopharynx pyriformis and Allopharynx mehrai from Ptyas korros, Neopronocephalus orientalis from Geoemyda spinosa, and Duthiersia expansa from Varanus salvator are all reported from the area of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Paradistomoidella cerberi most closely resembles members of Paradistomum and of Paradistomoides but is characterized by relatively short caeca, a cirrus sac containing a bipartite rather than sinuous internal seminal vesicle, and unevenly-sized suckers. Kuala Lumpur is a new locality for Paracanthostomum cerberi, X. pyriformis, A. melvrai, and D. expansa. Ptyas korros is a new host for X. pyriformis and G. spinosa is a new host for N. orientalis.