Family DAVAINEIDAE Braun, 1900

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Introduction

The family Davaineidae is characterised by the the possession of a crown of rostellar hooks which are hammer-shaped. The suckers may be armed with spines and the uterus is either persistent, forms egg capsules or is replaced by a paruterine organ (Jones & Bray 1994). The family is represented by two subfamilies, the Davaineinae Braun, 1900 in which a paruterine organ is lacking, and the Idiogeninae Fuhrmann, 1907 in which a paruterine organ is present. The classification followed here is that of Jones & Bray (1994).

Only the sub-family Davaineinae has been reported formally from Australian hosts. A species of Idiogenes Krabbe, 1868 (Idiogeninae) occurs in the Australian bustard, Ardeotis australis (Mawson et al. 1986), but has yet to be described.

Davaineid cestodes are most abundant in birds, with smaller numbers present in mammals. Life cycles usually involve an insect intermediate host. As the cestode fauna of Australian birds has not been investigated thoroughly, it is most likely that the Davaineidae is under represented in the current lists.

The majority of the cestodes listed below are endemic. However, a number of species, particularly of the cosmopolitan genera Davainea Blanchard, 1891, Raillietina Fuhrmann, 1920 and Skrjabinia Fuhrmann, 1920, have been introduced with domestic poultry. Cotugnia Diamare, 1893 has been included in the list of cestode species, but is highly unusual in that all species have been found in Australian birds, but only in overseas zoos.

General References

Jones, A. & Bray, R.A. 1994. Family Davaineidae Braun, 1900. pp. 407-441 in Khalil, L.F., Jones, A. & Bray, R.A. (eds). Keys to the Cestode Parasites of Vertebrates. Wallingford, UK : Commonwealth Agriculture Bureaux International 751 pp.

Mawson, P.M., Angel, L.M. & Edmonds, S.J. 1986. A checklist of helminths from Australian birds. Records of the South Australian Museum (Adelaide) 19: 219-325

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