Family MIXODIGMATIDAE Dailey & Vogelbein, 1982

Museums

Regional Maps

Introduction

The family Mixodigmatidae was erected by Dailey & Vogelbein (1982) to contain an unusual cestode from a newly discovered planktonivorous shark, Megachasma pelagios. Subsequently, during a redescription of the genus Halysiorhynchus by Beveridge & Campbell (1992), it became evident that the two are closely related and Halysiorhynchus was included in the Mixodigmatidae by Campbell & Beveridge (1994). The family is characterised by the presence of four bothria, a typical heteroacanthous armature in the metabasal region of the tentacle with nine hooks in each principal row and the presence of a prebulbar organ (Campbell & Beveridge 1994). Susequently, Beveridge & Campbell (1998) have added a third genus, Trygonicola, to the family.

Currently, the family is represented in Australian waters by a single genus, Halysiorhynchus, although the other known genera are likely to be present also.

General References

Beveridge, I. & Campbell, R.A. 1992. Redescription of Halysiorhynchus macrocephalus (Cestoda: Trypanorhyncha), a genus newly recorded from the Australian region. Systematic Parasitology 22: 151-157

Beveridge, I. & Campbell, R.A. 1998. Re-examination of the trypanorhynch cestode collections of A.E. Shipley, J. Hornell and T. Southwell, with the erection of a new genus, Trygonicola, and redescriptions of seven species. Systematic Parasitology 39: 1-34

Campbell, R.A. & Beveridge, I. 1994. Order Trypanorhyncha Diesing, 1863. pp. 51-148 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.

Dailey, M.D. & Vogelbein, W. 1982. Mixodigmatidae, a new family of cestode (Trypanorhyncha) from a deep sea planktonivorous shark. Journal of Parasitology 68: 145-149

History of changes