Cestodes of the genus Aploplaraksis Clerc, 1903 (Cyclophyllidea, Aploparaksidae) reported from gulls, with a description of new species

• Published in: Journal of Natural History
• Main Authors: Bondarenko, Svetlana, Kontrimavičius, Vytautas
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: Lithuanian; English
• Published: 2006
• Subjects: Hymenolepididae; Alaska; Chukotka; Stercorarius longicaudus
• Online Access: http://lmavb.lvb.lt/LMAVB:ELABAPDB5733675&prefLang=en_US

Fifteen species of Aploparaksis Clerc, 1903 described from gulls or reported to infect gulls are reviewed. The re-examination showed that gulls are parasitised by the following six species: A. borealis, A. brachyphallus, A. diagonalis, A. rissae, A. xemae and A. shigini n. sp. Only the latter species is considered to be a host-specific parasite of gulls, whereas A. borealis is recognised as a common parasite of passeriform birds and the other four proved to be common parasites of shorebirds. Aploparaksis brachyphallos is redescribed from the skua Stercorarius longicaudus of Chukotka, and corrections, as well as supplements, are given for the original descriptions of A. rissae and A. xemae, based on the study of the type specimens. The new species, A. shigini, is described from Holarctic gulls; it was formerly known as A. larina Fuhrmann, 1921 sensu Shigin (1961). Synonyms of valid species, a range of definitive hosts, and their geographical distributions based on the results of the present investigation, are provided. Data are presented on the life cycles, intermediate hosts and the morphological types of the metacestodes of all species (except for A. shigini).