Strigea falconis brasiliana Szidat, 1929

Drago, Fabiana B., Lunaschi, Lía I. & Draghi, Regina, 2014, Digenean fauna in raptors from northeastern Argentina, with the description of a new species of Strigea (Digenea: Strigeidae), Zootaxa 3785 (2), pp. 258-270 : 263-265

Strigea falconis brasiliana Szidat, 1929

( Fig. 5 )

Hosts: Milvago chimachima (Vieillot) , yellow–headed caracara (Falconidae) ; Caracara plancus (Miller) , southern caracara (Falconidae) .

Site of infection: small intestine

Voucher specimens: M. chimachima MLP 6712, C. plancus MLP 6713.

Distribution and hosts: This strigeid is considered euryxenous, because it has a broad spectrum of definitive hosts, including 12 species of raptors, scavenging and aquatic birds (see Lunaschi and Drago 2013).

Measurements: Based on 5 specimens. Body distinctly bipartite; 1.949–2.881 mm (2.432 mm) long. Forebody cup shaped, 469–609 (543) long by 435–609 (548) wide. Hindbody subcylindrical, without true neck region, 1.480–2.272 (1.889) mm long by 532–706 (0.645) wide. Ratio of forebody length to hindbody length 1:3.2–3.7 (3.5). Oral sucker ovoid, slightly subterminal, 95–119 (107) long by 79–107 (93) wide. Ventral sucker round, 131–233 (181) long by 98–200 (139) wide. Suckers width ratio 1:1.1–2.5 (1.8). Pharynx elliptical, immediately posterior to oral sucker, 119–125 (121) long by 140–145 (142) wide. Testes tandem, lobated, in the posterior middle hindbody; anterior testis 237–507 (345) long by 290–440 (375) wide; posterior testis 327–362 (350) long by 314430 (388) wide. Copulatory bursa 450–464 (460) long by 465–474 (468) wide; genital cone 143– 314 (229) long by 136–391 (264) wide. Muscular ring (Ringnapf) well developed. Ovary elliptical to reniform, 93– 167 (132) long by 174–266 (207) wide, located at 435–783 (599) from junction of fore- and hindbody. Vitellarium follicular, densely distributed in hindbody; in forebody reaching to ventral sucker; in hindbody occupying its whole width in preovarian region and extending dorsally to copulatory bursa. Vitelline reservoir intertesticular. Uterus with 32–50 (41) eggs, 83–117 (99) long by 50–60 (54) wide.

Remarks: The finding of this strigeid species in M. chimachima represents a new host record.

Figures

FIGURES 4 – 11. Digeneans from raptors. 4. Strigea proteolytica n. sp. from Buteogallus urubitinga, scale bar = 250 µm. 5. Strigea falconis brasiliana Szidat, 1929 from Caracara plancus, scale bar = 250 µm. 6. Neodiplostomum travassosi Dubois, 1937 from Buteogallus meridionalis, scale bar = 200 µm. 7. Tylodelphys brevis Drago & Lunaschi, 2008 from Busarellus nigricollis, scale bar = 100 µm. 8. Posthodiplostomum macrocotyle Dubois, 1937 from B. nigricollis, scale bar 200 µm. 9. Enlarged view of copulatory bursa of P. macrocotyle, scale bar 50 µm. 10. Spaniometra variolaris (Fuhrmann, 1904) from R. sociabilis, scale bar 500 µm. 11. Megalophallus deblocki Kostadinova, Vaucher & Gibson, 2006 from R. sociabilis, scale bar 100 µm. Abbreviations: B, body wall; Gc, genital cone; P, prepuce.