Menziesia noblei ( Menzies, 1946 ) Gibson, 1976

Whittington, I. D., Deveney, M. R. & Wyborn, S. J., 2001, A revision of Benedenia Diesing, 1858 including a redescription of B. sciaenae (van Beneden, 1856) Odhner, 1905 and recognition of Menziesia Gibson, 1976 (Monogenea: Capsalidae), Journal of Natural History 35 (5), pp. 663-777 : 745-747

Menziesia noblei ( Menzies, 1946) Gibson, 1976

(®gure 35)

Synonyms. Benedenia noblei Menzies, 1946 ; Pseudobenedenia noblei ( Menzies, 1946) Yamaguti, 1963 ; Parabenedenia noblei ( Menzies, 1946) Gibson, 1976 ; Benedenia noblei ( Menzies, 1946) Egorova, 1997 .

Material studied. USNPC: 36947 (holotype) (1 slide, 1 individual) ex Sebastodes paucispinus (probably Sebastodes paucispinis Ayres ) ( Scorpaenidae ) (now Sebastes Cuvier , see Eschmeyer, 1990) from Monterey Bay, California, USA. Both genus and species are misspelled on the label of the holotype as Benedinia nobeli (sic).

Observations. Menziesia noblei was described (as B. noblei ) adequatel y by Menzies (1946) although our reappraisal outlines a few additional details. The only available specimen, a heavily stained whole-mount with curling at the haptor edges (®gure 35A), limited our reappraisal. Menzies (1946) based his account on six speci- mens, but we could only trace the holotype. Menziesia noblei is approximately 2 mm long and is, therefore, a small benedeniine (e.g. ®gure 3C). The penis is elongate and sigmoid (®gure 35A). The long penis canal has a weakly muscular wall, accommodates the penis, and an accessory gland reservoir with weakly muscular walls overlies the proximal end of the penis. Menzies did not describe the junction of the vas deferens and the duct of the accessory gland reservoir inside the penis and we could not resolve fully the paths of these ducts in the holotype. The duct of the accessory gland reservoir enters the centre of the proximal end of the penis. The vas deferens enters the proximal end of the penis canal nearest the midline of the parasite and enters the penis proper near an indentation, but the path of the two ducts is di cult to trace beyond this point. Menzies’ ®gure 1 shows the two ducts joining near the indentation, but we cannot verify this feature. The testes are particularly large and are located in the posterior third of the body (®gure 35A). The vagina is long, muscular and its pore is located just dorsal to the common genital pore. The large vitelline reservoir is bigger on the left side than the right, although this may be a variable speci®c to this specimen. Menzies reported that the germarium contained two seminal receptacles, one associated with the uterus and one associated with the vagina. After careful observation, however, we believe the germarium contains only a single chamber and that Menzies concluded that each end of the single chamber was a separate entity. Furthermore, the structure Menzies indicated as the`vaginal seminal receptacle’ is merely the proximal region of the vagina with thick walls and an expanded lumen, a feature of our revised generic diagnosis. The`true’ vaginal seminal receptacle appears to be a triangular-shape d structure immediately anterior to the vitelline reservoir. We could not see sperm inside the vaginal seminal receptacle and it is possible this organ may be a diOEerent shape if viewed in a recently inseminated worm. The haptor is relatively small and is covered dorsally by the body for about two-thirds of its extent. The hamuli are di cult to observe due to orientation but the accessory sclerites appear to be pointed distally and have medial and proximal inātions (®gure 35B). Tendons were not observed associated with the accessory sclerites. The anterior hamuli have a ®ne shaft and a recurved distal tip (®gure 35C). The posterior hamuli have a heavy shaft with a ®ne hook distally (®gure 35D). The relationship of the sclerites relative to each other was di cult to determine, but we believe the proximal ends of the anterior hamuli overlap the proximal part of the accessory sclerites and the distal ends of the anterior hamuli overlap the proximal ends of the posterior hamuli to some degree. Distortion in the holotype, presumably an artifact of ®xation, precluded precise observations. The marginal valve consists of many small lobes but details could not be determined.

Type-host and locality. Sebastodes paucispinus (now Sebastes paucispinis , see Eschmeyer, 1990) ( Scorpaenidae ), Monterey Bay, California, USA.

Published record and description. Menzies (1946).

Published host record. Scorpaenidae : Sebastodes (now Sebastes ) paucispinus .

Site . Gills.

Distribution. Monterey Bay, California, USA.

Remarks. Menzies (1946) compared this species with Benedenia (now Allobenedenia ) convoluta and made particular note of the`form of the vitelline follicles in the arch of the right caecal branch’ as a characteristic to diOEerentiate it from congeners. We have not observed this rosiate arrangement of the vitelline follicles in any other species of benedeniine and we regard this feature of doubtful taxonomic value. Menzies further diOEerentiated M. noblei on the basis of the form of the penis complex, the presence of a vaginal and an ovarian seminal receptacle, the presence of glands of Goto and diOEerences in the ratio of body length to testis length. We regard this species as best diOEerentiated from other Menziesia species by the following combination of features: broad and large posterior hamuli; extremely large and posterior position of testes; position of common genital pore and vaginal pore.