Australian Biological Resources Study

Australian Faunal Directory

<i>Linguatula serrata </i>Frölich, 1789

Linguatula serrata Frölich, 1789

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Family Linguatulidae Haldeman, 1851

 

Introduction

Linguatula is the only genus, with around half a dozen species. Linguatula serrata has dozens of junior synonyms. All members of the family are parasites of carnivorous mammals and caribou and reindeer. All have possibly direct development. Besides the described species, undescribed species of Linguatula have been recorded from the native rodents, Hydromys chrysogaster Geoffroy and Melomys littoralis Lonnberg (Mackerras 1958). The family name is the oldest of all Pentastomida. Authorship is often been ascribed to Heymons (1935) but Sambon (1922) and Shipley (1898) are two examples of earlier use. The earliest reference to Linguatulidae as a family name is by Haldeman (1851) whose authority is applied here. An alternative, spelled as Linguatulida, appeared in the same year (Vogt 1851). Almeida & Christoffersen (1999) attributed Linguatulidae to Leuckart (1860) but the name does not appear in his book.

 

Diagnosis

Body in adults long and slender, pointed toward the posterior end, flattened and spatulate. Annuli in adults not thickened. Rostrum in adults absent. Mouth in adults before anterior hooks. Podial lobes in adults absent. Proximal podomere of appendages 3 and 4 modified as fulcrum, campanulate in larvae and boat-shaped in adults; fulcrum in adults proportional to length of hooks. Primary hooks in adults not reduced, trapezoidal; accessory hooks present and dorsal from larvae to nymph, absent in adults; hooks without spines. Cirrus sac in adults present, long. Terminal papillae in adults absent. Testes double. Ejaculatory bulbs in adults elongate. Nervous system in adults all ganglia fused into single suboesophagic nerve mass. Uterus in adults tubular. Female gonopore in adults subterminal, posterior, adjacent or fused to anus (opisthogyne condition). Thorax in larvae elongate, not segmented. Medium spine of penetrating apparatus in primary larvae simple. Lateral spines of penetrating apparatus in primary larvae bifid. Spines of annuli in nymph present. Spiny eggshells in adults absent. (derived from Almeida & Christoffersen 1999)

Testes double. Body lanceolate, very long, strongly narrowed posteriorly, with ventral surface very flat, dorsum more or less rounded in the middle, edges straight. Hooks simple, smooth, arranged on a curved line. Mouth between the internal hooks. Anus terminal. Vulva immediately anterior to the anus. Nymph with double hooks and strongly spinose cuticle. (translated from Fain 1961)

 

General References

Almeida, W.O. & Christoffersen, M.L. 1999. A cladistic approach to relationships in Pentastomida. Journal of Parasitology 85: 695-704

Haldeman, S.S. 1851. Invertebrates. pp. 220-400 in Baird, S.F. Outlines of General Zoology. New York : Rudolph Garrigue. [reprinted from the Zoological portion of the work entitled "Iconographic Encyclopedia of Sciences, Literature and Art. Systematically arranged by J.G. Heck, translated from the German with additions, and edited by Spencer F. Baird, A.M., M.D., Professor of Natural Sciences in Dickinson College, Carlisle, Pa. ...]

Heymons, R. 1935. Pentastomida. In, Bronns, H.G. (ed.). Klassen und Ordnungen des Tierreichs. Fünfter Band. IV Abteilung, 1. Buch. Leipzig : Akademische Verlagsgesellschaft m.b.H. pp. 1–268.

Leuckart, R. 1860. Bau und Entwicklungsgeschichte der Pentastomen nach Untersuchungen besonders von Pent. taenioides und P. dendiculatum. Leipzig : C. F. Winterische Verlagshandung.

Mackerras, M.J. 1958. Catalogue of Australian mammals and their recorded internal parasites. II. Eutheria. Proceedings of the Linnean Society of New South Wales 83: 126-143

Sambon, L.W. 1922. A synopsis of the family Linguatulidae. New species described since the publication of my "Synopsis of the family Linguatulidae." Part I. Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene 25: 391-428

Sambon, L.W. 1922. A synopsis of the family Linguatulidae [part I]. Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene 25: 188-206

Shipley, A.E. 1898. An attempt to revise the family Linguatulidae. Archives de Parasitologie 1: 52-80

Vogt, C. 1851. Zoologische Briefe : Naturgeschichte lebenden und untergegangenen Thiere, für Lehrer, höhere Schulen und Gebildete aller Stände. Frankfurt a.M. : Literarische Anstalt Vol. 1.

 

History of changes

Note that this list may be incomplete for dates prior to September 2013.
Published As part of group Action Date Action Type Compiler(s)
21-Mar-2012 21-Mar-2012 MODIFIED
28-Feb-2012 28-Feb-2012 MODIFIED
20-Oct-2011 20-Oct-2011 MODIFIED
12-Apr-2011 12-Apr-2011 MOVED
31-Mar-2011 ADDED