Lagarocotyle salamandrae n. gen., n. sp. (Monogenoidea, Polyonchoinea, Lagarocotylidae n. ord.) from the Cloaca of Rhyacotriton cascadae Good and Wake (Caudata, Rhyacotritonidae) in Washington State

Authors

Delane C. Kritsky, Idaho State University
Eric P. Hoberg, United States Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research ServiceFollow
K. B. Aubry, United States Department ofAgriculture, Forest Service, Pacific Northwest Research Station

Date of this Version

6-1993

Comments

Published in the Journal of Parasitology (June 1993) 79(3): 322-330.

Abstract

Lagarocotyle salamandrae n. gen., n. sp. (Lagarocotylidea n. ord., Lagarocotylidae n. fam.) is described from the cloaca of the Cascade torrent salamander, Rhyacotriton cascadae Good and Wake (Rhyacotritonidae), from the Lewis River and Wind River drainages of south-central Washington. Lagarocotyle n. gen. is characterized, in part, by a haptor armed with 16 hooks (14 submarginal, two subcentral), blind intestinal ceca, a large testis surrounding the germarium, an open male copulatory organ (not tubular), a dextroventral vaginal pore (at level of copulatory complex), and an egg lacking filaments; eyes, head organs, seminal receptacle, and haptoral anchors and bars are lacking. Lagarocotyle salamandrae is apparently specific for Rhyacotriton (not having been found in two sympatric species of Dicamptodon) and occurs within a limited range of the hosts' distribution, Prevalence varied from 21% to 32% and intensity of infection from one to 5 worms/host. Phylogenetic analysis provided a hypothesis for the independent origin of Lagarocotylidea within Polyonchoinea (consistency index = 62.9%).