Hymenolepis, Weinland, 1858

Beveridge, Ian & Smales, Lesley R., 2017, Cestode Parasites (Platyhelminthes) of Rodents from New Guinea and Adjacent Islands with a Redescription of Paroniella blanchardi (Parona, 1897) (Davaineidae), Records of the Australian Museum (Rec. Aust. Mus.) 69 (6), pp. 451-460 : 452

Hymenolepis cf diminuta (Rudolphi, 1819)

Material examined. From Hydromys chrysogaster GEOffrOy, 1804 (WatEr rat): MabEa VillagE, Itugli, FErgussOn Island , Milne Bay Province , 9°30'S 150°E (W23775) ; Imalele Village, Bunala River, Fergusson Island , Milne Bay Province , 9°30'S 150°33'E (W23776) ; from Rattus elaphinus Sody, 1941 (Sulu Archipelago rat): Cepalulu Village, Manggole Island, North Moluccas, 1°53'S 125°50'E (W23768) ; from Rattus leucopus (Gray, 1867) (Cape York rat): Jirlai, Kobroor Island, Aru Islands , West Papua, 6°02'S 134°32'E (W48826–827) ; from Rattus mordax (Thomas, 1904) (eastern New Guinea rat): Wamla Village, Normanby Island , Milne Bay Province , 10°30'S 151°17'E (W23787) ; from Rattus niobe (Thomas, 1906) (eastern New Guinea mountain rat): south of Tifalin, West Sepik Province , 5°05'S 141°25'E (W23790) ; Dokfuma, Star Mountains, West Sepik Province , 5°01'S 141°07'E (W23793) ; Kamptamen, South of Hindenberg Wall, West Sepik Province , 5°10'S 141°16'E (W23788–789) ; Ofekaman–Telefonin Area, West Sepik Province , 5°05'S 141°35'E (W23794) ; from Rattus tanezumi Temminck, 1844 (oriental house rat): Piliana Village, Seram, Maluku Province , 3°15'S 129°30'E (W48825) ; from Rattus verecundus (Thomas, 1904) (New Guinea slender rat): Kutubu Lake, Mt Kemenagi, Southern Highlands Province , 6°23'S 143°19'E (W23821) ; Munimum Village, Agaun, Milne Bay Province , 9°53'S 149°23'E (W23822) ; from Rattus vandeuseni Taylor & Calaby, 1982 (Van Deusen’s New Guinea mountain rat): Munimum Village, Aguan, Milne Bay Province , 9°53'S 149°23'E (W23816–818) .

Remarks. This cosmopolitan species is known from rodents throughout the world ( Schmidt, 1986) including New Guinea where it has been found in “ Rattus ruber ” (now a synonym of Rattus nitidus (Hodgson, 1845) and Pogonomelomys ruemmleri Tate & Archbold, 1941 (see Jones & Anderson, 1990). It has been reported previously from H. chrysogaster in Australia ( Smales et al., 1990) although not previously in New Guinea or from any species of the other hosts listed above all of which therefore represent nEW rEcOrds. ThE spEciEs has bEEn idEntifiEd as “cf diminuta ” as recent molecular studies have indicated that it probably cOnstitutEs a spEciEs cOmplEx currEntly undiffErEntiablE using morphological criteria ( Haukisalmi et al., 2010).