Faustula gangetica ( Srivastava, 1935 ) Yamaguti, 1958

Dronen, Norman O., Blend, Charles K., Mohammed, Essa T. & Bannai, Majid, 2021, Reconsideration of the species assigned to Faustula Poche, 1926 (Digenea: Microphalloidea) with the proposal of five new genera in the Faustulidae Poche, 1926, Zootaxa 5027 (2), pp. 231-253 : 240

Faustula gangetica ( Srivastava, 1935) Yamaguti, 1958

(Syns. Faustula ilishii [ Srivastava, 1935] Yamaguti, 1958; Orientophorus gangeticus Srivastava,1935 ; Orientophoros ilishii Srivastava, 1935 ; Faustula mandapamensis Shima, 1974 )

( Fig. 5 )

Type host: Hilsa shad, Tenualosa ilisha (Hamilton) (Clupeidae) .

Type locality: India (freshwater) .

Remarks: Faustula gangetica is similar to F. brevichrus by having a cirrus sac that surpasses the ventral sucker posteriorly, but primarily differs from F. brevichrus by having a terminal oral sucker (as originally described); a postbifurcal genital pore and longer vitelline fields. Faustula gangetica also is somewhat similar to F. clupeae , but it has a longer esophagus (160–180; 11–12%); a somewhat larger oral sucker/pharynx width ratio (1:1.5–1:2.2); a median, distinctly postbifurcal genital pore; a longer cirrus sac (360–400; 24–27%) that surpasses the ventral sucker extending some distance into the intertesticular space of the hindbody to about the level of the anterior extent of the ovary; a shorter postovarian space (about 355; 26% vs 475; 35%); larger eggs (16–25 × 12 vs 15 × 10); more extensive vitelline fields that extend from the level of the posterior aspect of the esophagus posteriorly to the midlevel of the ovary, terminating at the level of the cecal ends vs extending from about the level of the intestinal bifurcation posteriorly to the midlevel of the testes, terminating at the midlevel of the ceca; somewhat shorter ceca that do not extend posteriorly beyond the midlevel of the ovary and F. gangetica was described as having a terminal oral sucker. It should be noted that in their redescription of F. gangetica Garner et al. (2019) considered the oral sucker to be slightly subterminal. For additional details used to distinguish F. gangetica from other similar species retained in Faustula , see the Remarks sections provided above for F. basiri and F. brevichrus .

We propose the following key to accommodate those species we feel should be assigned to Faustula .

Figures

FIGURES 5–6. Diagrammatic illustrations of faustulids (ventral views): 5. Faustula gangetica (Srivastava, 1935) Yamaguti, 1958 based on Srivastava (1935). 6. Gobiofaustula qikouensis (Qiu & Li, 1995) n. comb. based on Qiu & Li (1995); representative of Gobiofaustula n. gen.