Hypocreadium cavum Bray & Cribb, 1996

Bray, Rodney A., Cribb, Thomas H. & Justine, Jean-Lou, 2009, New observations on the genus Hypocreadium Ozaki, 1936 (Digenea: Lepocreadiidae) in the Indo-West Pacific region, including the description of one new species, Zootaxa 2110, pp. 22-40 : 23

Hypocreadium cavum Bray & Cribb, 1996

( Figure 1 )

Host: Abalistes stellatus (Anonymous) , Balistidae , starry triggerfish.

Site: Intestine.

Locality: Swain Reefs, southern Great Barrier Reef, off Queensland, Australia (21°53’S, 152°21’E, Feb. 2001).

Prevalence: 1 of 1.

Voucher specimens: QM G 230517 – 230519, BMNH 2009.2.12.47–48.

Remarks: These specimens agree well with those described by Bray & Cribb (1996) from the same host species from Heron Island (see Table 1 ). This is the first record of this parasite from this locality. Machida & Kuramochi (1999) reported, but did not illustrate, this species from the balistid the yellow-margined triggerfish, Pseudobalistes flavimarginatus (Rüppell) , from Palau in Micronesia. These authors point out that in their specimens the ventral sucker is larger, the eggs are smaller, the ovary is more or less post-testicular and the massive development of gland-cells around the cirrus-sac is absent. In our new specimens, the ventral sucker is distinctly smaller than in the specimens from P. flavimarginatus , no eggs were seen, the ovary is intertesticular, there are numerous gland-cells around the cirrus-sac and the genital pore is always just postbifurcal. Bray & Cribb (2002) also reported this species from the masked triggerfish, Sufflamen fraenatum (Latreille) , from Heron Island. They found the measurements to agree with those of Bray & Cribb (1996). There remains some substantial doubt as to the status of the forms from Palau.

Figures

FIGURES 1 – 2. 1. Hypocreadium cavum Bray & Cribb, 1996, ex Abalistes stellatus, Swain Reefs, ventral view, uterus in bold-outline. 2. Hypocreadium patellare Yamaguti, 1938, typical form, ex Abalistes stellatus, Swain Reefs, ventral view, uterus in bold-outline. Scale-bars: 1, 2, 500 μm.