Family DILEPIDIDAE Fuhrmann, 1907

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Family DILEPIDIDAE Fuhrmann, 1907

Dilepinidae Fuhrmann, 1907 [original spelling; justified emendation by Railliet & Henry, 1909 (see art. 19.2 ICZN)].

Taxonomic Decision for Synonymy

Mariaux, J., Tkach, V.V., Vasileva, G.P., Waeschenbach, A., Beveridge, I., Dimitrova, Y.D., Haukisalmi, V., Greinman, S.E., Littlewood, D.T.J., MAkarikov, A.A., Philips, A.J., Razafiarisolo, T., Widmer, V. & Georgiev, B.B. 2017. Cyclophyllidea van Beneden in Braun, 1900. pp. 77-148 in Caira, J.N. & Jensen, K. (eds.). Planetary Biodiversity Inventory (2008–2017): Tapeworms from Vertebrate Bowels of the Earth. Lawrence, KS, USA : University of Kansas, Natural History Museum Vol. Special Publication No. 25. [106]

Introduction

The Dilepididae currently contains over 100 genera and is almost cetainly not monophyletic (Bona 1994). Hoberg et al. (1999) recognised the Gryporhynchidae as a potentially valid taxon, but as originally defined, this included only the dilepidid genera Bancroftiella Johnston, 1911, Clelandia Johnston, 1909, Cyclorchida Fuhrmann, 1907, Cyclustera Fuhrmann, 1901, Dendrouterina Fuhrmann, 1912, Parvitaenia Burt, 1940, and Proorchida Fuhrmann, 1908 (as Gryporhynchus von Nordmann, 1832, a name originally applied to larval cestodes). Even with the potential removal of the 'gryporhynchid' genera, the Dilepididae still remains a large and unwieldy family. The family is characterised by an armed rostellum (absent in some species) and numerous testes in each segment. The uterus may be persistent and linear or may be reticulate, or may form uterine capsules in the later stages of development. Dilepidids are primarily parasitic in birds with a few species in mammals. All known life cycles involve an arthropd first intermediate host (Bona 1994). Known 'gryporhynchid' life cycles involve an arthropod first intermediate host and a fish as a second intermediate host (Jarecka 1970).

The dilepidid cestodes of Australian birds have been little investigated and the list provided here is undoubtedly incomplete. A further problem is that the generic allocation of a number of Australian species is questionable (e.g. Angularella) and the validity of some of the identifications of cestodes reported from overseas, but also apparently found in Australia, is also dubious. The following list should be utilised with these reservations in mind.

Two endemic genera of cestodes, Anoplotaenia Beddard, 1911 and Dasyurotaenia Beddard, 1912, were not allocated to family by Khalil et al. (1994) but were retained as incertae sedis. In the classification of Schmidt (1986), they were included in the Dilepididae, a placement followed here.