Pentastomids (Arthropoda) Parasitic in Australian Reptiles and Mammals.

Abstract

Records of pentastomid arthropods parasitic in Australian reptiles and mammals are reviewed, with particular reference to material collected recently. Specimens representative of six genera are described. Sebekia sp. from the estuarine crocodile, Crocodylusporosus, is the first record of the genus in Australia and probably represents a new species. A nymph with double hooks, from the dasyurid marsupial Satanellus hallucatus, is determined as Waddycephalus sp. This represents the first evidence of double hooks in nymphal forms of the genus and of the role of marsupials as intermediate hosts of Waddycephalus. Nymphs from the peramelid marsupial, Isoodon macrourus, and from S, hallucatus are determined as Armillifer australis Riley & Self, 1981; those from Perameles nasuta are identified as A. arborealis Riley & Self, 1981. These represent the first records of marsupials as intermediate hosts of Armillifer. Adults of the genus Elenia Heymons, 1932 are confirmed as parasites of varanid lizards. E. australis Heymons, 1932 is recognized and it is suggested that specimens described by Heymons (1939), allegedly from Varanus varius at Townsville, Qld, may represent a new species. The cosmopolitan porocephalid Linguatula serrata Frolich, 1789 is recorded from the nasopharynx of the dingo or wild dog and the validity of the indigenous species, L. dingophila Johnson, 1910 is discussed. The cephalobaenid Raillietiella amphiboluri Mahon, 1954 is reported from Amphibolurus barbatus.