Caulobothrium pedunculatum Coleman, Beveridge, and Campbell, 2019

Caira, Janine N. & Jensen, Kirsten, 2021, Two new species of Caulobothrium (Cestoda: “ Tetraphyllidea ”) from the duckbill eagle ray, Aetomylaeus bovinus (Myliobatiformes: Myliobatidae), off Senegal with new insights on morphological features of the genus, Zootaxa 4903 (1), pp. 127-139 : 136

Caulobothrium pedunculatum Coleman, Beveridge, and Campbell, 2019

( Fig. 6C )

Examination of the hologenophore (LRP No. 3914) of the specimen provisionally referred to as Caulobothrium n. sp. 5 in the molecular phylogenetic analyses of Healy et al. (2009), leads us to believe this specimen is conspecific with C. pedunculatum . Beyond striking morphological similarities, both were collected from northern Australia from Pastinachus ater (Macleay) . We note that although Healy et al. (2009) referred to the host of their specimen as Pastinachus sephen Forsskål , the identity of the Australian member of this genus has been revised as P. ater (see Last et al. 2016). Although not mentioned in Coleman et al.’s (2019) description of this species, this molecular voucher indicates this species bears a sucker on the apex of each of its bothridia ( Fig. 6C ).

Figures

FIGURE 6. Apical suckers in Caulobothrium tetrascaphium and Caulobothrium pedunculatum. A. Scanning electron micrograph of apical sucker of C. tetrascaphium. B. Light micrograph of frontal section through apical sucker of C. tetrascaphium (LRP No. 10256). C. Light micrograph of apical sucker of Caulobothrium pedunculatum (LRP No. 3914).