The Generic Status of the Heterophyid Trematodes of the Ascocotyle Complex, including Notes on the Systematics and Biology of Ascocotyle angrense Travassos, 1916

Abstract

The history of the Ascocotyle complex of species is briefly reviewed. The generic status of Ascocotule Looss. 1899 is revised to include the subgenera Ascocotyle Travassos, 1930, Phagicola Faust, 1920, and Leighia, this paper. Ascocotyle nana Ransom, 1920, A. diminuta Stunkard and Haviland, 1924, and Phagicola lageniformis Chandler, 1941 are regarded synonyms of Ascocotyle angrense Travassos, 1916. Observations on the biology of A. angrense are recorded. Looss (1896) described Distomum coleostomum, a species which was incorrectly transferred to the genus Anoiktostoma Stossich, 1899 (family Acanthostomidae) by Stossich (1899). Looss (1899) established the genus Ascocotyle for Distomum coleostomum, also describing a second species, A. minuta. Alessandrini (1906) added another species, A. italica. Travassos (1916) described A. angrense, and Ransom (1920) A. nana and A. longa. Faust (1920) named the genus Phagicola, with P. pithecophagicola Faust, 1920 as type species, although Faust and Nishigori (1926) subsequently transferred this species to the genus Ascocotyle. Stunkard and HIaviland (1924) named and described A. diminuta, establishing the subgenus Parascocotyle for A. minuta (type species) and A. diminuta. Linton (1928) described Ascocotyle plana. Travassos (1928) described A. arnaldoi, and (1929a) A. filippei and A. angeloi. Witenberg (1929) raised Parascocotyle to generic rank, assigning to this genus the species minuta, italica, nana, longa, pithecophagicola, and a new species P. ascolonga Witenberg, 1929. Witenberg (1929)