<i>Serpinema</i> spp. (Nematoda: Camallanidae) from turtles of North America and Europe

Abstract

Cephalic and male caudal morphology of Serpinema microcephalus (Dujardin, 1845) Yeh, 1960 and S. trispinosus (Leidy, 1852) Yeh, 1960 have been compared and S. trispinosus is confirmed us a valid species, Camallanus pipientis Walton, 1935 is designated a synonym of S. trispinosus. Serpinema trispinosus is characterized by relatively slender, long ridges in the buccal valves which are separated into dorsal and ventral groups by a number of short spike-like medial ridges, whereas in S. microcephalus the long dorsal and ventral ridges are relatively thick and separated by a number of inconspicuous knob-like medial ridges, The caudal end in males of both species is similar; there are 15 pairs of papillae, conspicuous caudal alae, and unequal spicules.