NEIHPID

Fasciolopsis buski (Looss Looss) Lankester 1857 Back

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Taxonomy

Platyhelminthes »
       TREMATODA »
              Digenea »
                     Fasciolidae Railliet, 1895 »
                            Fasciolopsinae Odhner, 1910 »
                                   Fasciolopsis Looss, 1899 »
                                           Fasciolopsis buski (Lankester 1857), Looss 1899

Synonyms

(Distoma crassum Cobbold, 1860; D. rathouisi Poirier, 1887; Fasciolopsis fulleborni Rodenwaldt, 1909; F. goddardi Ward, 1909; F. spinifera Brown, 1917)

Host

Sus (scrofa domestica)

Habitat

Intestine

Locality

Shillong (Meghalaya), Guwahati (Assam)

Description

Flukes of Assam origin

Body broadly ovated, elliptical or linguiform, with rounded posterior end, 33-58 mm long, 8-16 mm in greatest width; ratio of body width to body length 1:3.3-1:3.62. Ventral sucker 1.22-2.26 mm in greatest diameter, ratio to body length 1:25.66-1:27.04. Oral sucker smaller than ventral sucker, 0.36-0.49 mm in diameter, ratio to ventral sucker 1:3.38-1:4.61. Pre-pharynx very short; pharynx 0.36-0.63 mm in diameter. Oesophagus short. Caeca lateral, simple, unbranched, more or less straight, extending from pharynx to sub-caudal region. Cirrus sac sinuous. Ovary branched; Mehlis' gland median, post-ovarian. Eggs 0.144-0.171 mm by 0.081-0.094 mm.

Flukes of Meghalaya origin

Body oval, 17-22 mm long, 11-14 mm wide, ratio of body width to body length 1:1.42-1:1.54. Ventral sucker 1.80-2.48 mm in diameter, ratio to body length 1:8.06-1:9.44. Oral sucker smaller than ventral sucker, 0.45-0.72 mm in diameter, ratio to ventral sucker 1:4.59-1:5.0. Pre-pharynx short; pharynx 0.58-0.72 mm in diameter. Oesophagus absent. Caeca lateral, with few loose coils, branched laterally. Testes tandem, branched, posterior in position. Cirrus sac tubular, opening anterior to ventral sucker. Ovary branched, lying right to mid line. Mehlis' gland median, equatorial. Vitellaria loose follicles, occupying lateral fields. Uterus coiled transversely in inter-caecal field. Eggs 0.113-0.135 mm by 0.081-0.094 mm.

Remarks

F. buski has been reported from several regions of India such as Assam, Bengal, Orissa and Madras (Mehra, 1980). The flukes collected from Guwahati (Assam) conform to the earlier descriptions of the type species (Mehra, 1980; Yamaguti, 1971) in all aspects, except for minor deviations with regard to the measurements of the various organs. However, the parasites collected from Shillong (Meghalaya) differ in respect of size of the body and eggs, ratio of different body parts to the length of the body, and laterally dendriditic branched caeca.

Helminthological collections record

NEHU/Z - TM/27

Specimen Type

Holotype: W7773/1 in Zoological Survey of India, Kolkata.

References

Mehra, H. R. (1980). The fauna of India and the adjacent countries. Edited by the Director, Zoological Survey of India. pp 418.

Yamaguti, S. (1971). Synopsis of digenetic trematodes of vertebrates. Vol.1. Tokyo (Keigaku Publishing Co.).