Progamotaenia pulchella, Beveridge, I. & Shamsi, S., 2009

Beveridge, I. & Shamsi, S., 2009, Revision of the Progamotaenia festiva species complex (Cestoda: Anoplocephalidae) from Australasian marsupials, with the resurrection of P. fellicola (Nybelin, 1917) comb. nov., Zootaxa 1990, pp. 1-29 : 23-25

Progamotaenia pulchella sp. nov.

( Figs 59–64)

Synonyms: Progamotaenia festiva ( Rudolphi, 1819) sensu Beveridge (1976) , Baverstock et al. (1985), Spratt et al. (1991).

Host: Setonix brachyurus (Quoy & Gaimard) (Marsupialia: Macropodidae ).

Site in host: bile ducts.

Types: Holotype, Rottnest Island , Western Australia (31º 59'S 115º 31'E), coll. S. Barker, 19.x. 1959 ( SAM 20052, 29372 ); 9 paratypes, same locality, coll. 19.x.1959, 30.xii.1959 ( SAM 20052-3 ).

Etymology: diminutive of pulcher which means beautiful.

Material examined: From Setonix brachyurus (quokka): Western Australia: types; 5 specimens, Rottnest Island ( AHC 20790, 21376 ) .

Description: Slender, elongate cestodes, 27–70 (39.9) long, maximum width 1.5–4.0 (2.6) with 115–243 (173) segments in gravid strobilae. Scolex 0.358 –0.618 (0.518) in diameter, barely lobed at apex; suckers circular, 0.065 –0.211 (0.176) in diameter. Neck short. First mature segment 53–63th (58, n=6). Mature segments craspedote, 0.650–1.54 (1.09) wide, 0.146 –0.276 (0.213) long. Genital atrium small, in middle of or slightly posterior to middle of lateral segment margin; cirrus sac small, elongate, extending beyond osmoregulatory canals, 0.176 –0.260 (0.207) long, 0.020 –0.065 (0.030) wide; cirrus unarmed; internal seminal vesicle occupies approx. 2/3–3/4 of volume of cirrus sac, 0.078 –0.124 (0.103) long, 0.033 –0.072 (0.052) wide; elongate external seminal vesicle, covered with layer of glandular cells, 0.052 –0.091 (0.068) long, 0.026 –0.078 (0.041) wide; vas deferens coils medially, dorsal to uterus; testes arranged in anterior half of segment between osmoregulatory canals; no prominent space between canals and testis fields; testes arranged in 2 dorso-ventral layers, in 2 separate groups. Testes 0.026 –0.046 (0.040) in diameter; testes number 34–47 (39, n=5). Vagina tubiform, lacking glandular investment, opens to genital atrium posterior to cirrus sac, leads to ovoid to sub-spherical seminal receptacle 0.085 –0.228 (0.144) x 0.065 –0.163 (0.114). Ovary flabelliform, medial to seminal receptacle 0.039 –0.098 (0.070) x 0.033 –0.085 (0.055); vitellarium reniform, posterior to ovary, 0.052 –0.182 (0.105) x 0.039 –0.098 (0.071); Mehlis’ gland anterior and medial to vitellarium. Uteri paired in each segment, transverse, tubular; early uterus extends from level of antiporal margin of ovary to near proximal pole of cirrus sac; developing uterus extends medially and laterally, lateral extensions crossing osmoregulatory canals dorsally; uteri of each segment do not meet in mid-line. Gravid segments 0.195 –0.406 (0.301) long, 0.98–1.95 (1.49) wide. Egg spherical, shell smooth, 0.041 –0.047 (0.043) in diameter; pyriform apparatus terminating in 2 horn-like projections; oncosphere 0.012 –0.014 (0.013) in diameter. Osmoregulatory canals paired; ventral canal generally wider than dorsal, medial to it; ventral canal 0.013 –0.026 (0.018) in diameter, dorsal canal 0.007 –0.020 (0.012) in diameter; transverse canal connects ventral canal at posterior margin of each segment; accessory canals absent.

Remarks. This species is differentiated from P. festiva by its small size and from P. festiva and P. corniculata in having a short neck. It is distinguished from all of the new species described here in having the testes invariably distributed in two distinct groups within each segment, a character which it shares with P. festiva . It is further distinguished from P. festiva by having a pyriform apparatus which terminates in two horns rather than being conical and terminating with numerous reflexed filaments as occurs in P. festiva . It differs from all bile duct-inhabiting cestodes in having a smaller average number of testes per segment (39). The only species with which the number of testes overlaps is P. diaphana , found in the southern hairy-nosed wombat, Lasiorhinus latifrons , in which the scolex contains black, pigmented areas. Material of this species was included in the MEE study by Baverstock et al. (1985), but was not available for the molecular study of Beveridge et al. (2007).