Title: A Review of the Status of the Reptilian Nematodes of the Genus Rhabdias with a Redescription of Rhabdias fuscovenosa var. catanensis (Rizzo, 1902) New Rank
Abstract:In the course of studies on the biology of Rhabdias the writer experienced some difficulty in making a specific identification of the principal form used. These worms obtained from the lungs of snakes...In the course of studies on the biology of Rhabdias the writer experienced some difficulty in making a specific identification of the principal form used. These worms obtained from the lungs of snakes were first identified as Rhabdias fuscovenosa (Railliet, I899) Stiles and Hassall I905, but upon careful study of Railliet's description and Goodey's (I924) redescription certain discrepancies were found and in most characteristics the writer's Rhabdias seemed to be closer to the form described as Strongylus catanensis by Rizzo (I902) which Chitwood (I933) synonymized with R. fuscovenosa. These two, however, are almost indistinguishable from a number of other described reptilian Rhabdias. Accordingly the author has reviewed the descriptions of the reptilian forms similar to the first described species, R. fuscovenosa (Railliet, I899) Stiles and Hassall I905, in order to place satisfactorily the form under consideration. Those from amphibians are not considered here since the writer's form could not be experimentally established in amphibian hosts and there is no evidence of cross infection with Rhabdias from reptile to amphibian hosts or vice versa. The confusion in classification of Rhabdias seems to be due (i) to the absence of a parasitic male, (2) dearth of distinct morphological differences in the parasitic female, (3) inadequate descriptions of certain forms, (4) incomplete information on the life history with the resulting lack of knowledge on the morphology of the free living generation. Consequently if worms recovered from new hosts or in new localities vary from those described they are likely to be described as distinct species. Most commonly used characteristics in this speciation are the size of the worms, the position of the reproductive organs, theRead More
Publication Year: 1936
Publication Date: 1936-04-01
Language: en
Type: review
Indexed In: ['crossref']
Access and Citation
Cited By Count: 26
AI Researcher Chatbot
Get quick answers to your questions about the article from our AI researcher chatbot