NEIHPID

Mehraorchis ranarum (Srivastava Srivastava) Back

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Taxonomy

Platyhelminthes »
       TREMATODA »
              Digenea »
                     Lecithodendridae (Lühe, 1901) Odhner, 1911 »
                            Prosotocinae Yamaguti, 1959 »
                                   Mehraorchis Srivastava, 1934 »
                                           Mehraorchis ranarum, Srivastava 1934

Host

Hoplobatrachus (tigerinus)

Habitat

Gall bladder

Locality

Dimapur (Nagaland)

Description

Body oval or round, 2.41-3.0 mm in length, 1.77-2.23 mm in width; mouth terminal, muscular, followed by muscular pharynx; weak ventral sucker, same in size as oral sucker, placed in middle half of body; oesophagus moderate in length bifurcating between suckers; intestinal caeca reaching posterior region of body. Genital pore situated marginally on left side of body, level with oral sucker. Cirrus sac well developed, elongate or claviform, extending up to caeca, contains elongated coiled seminal vesicle and well developed pars prostica, elongate or claviform extending up to caeca . Testes laterally and symmetrically arranged to intestinal caeca in fore body. Ovary above ventral sucker. Vitelline follicles arranged in two groups confined to testicular region. Uterus disposed in most of posterior region. Eggs small, 0.03 x 0.012-0.016 mm,  numerous.

Remarks

The present reporting of Mehraorchis ranarum from Nagaland, North-East India forms a new locality record, the host being the same i.e., H. tigerinus (=Rana tigrinus) with the earlier reporting from West Bengal (Mukherjee and Ghosh, 1970).

Helminthological collections record

NEHU/Z - TA/8

References

Mukherjee, R. P. and Ghosh, R. K. (1970a). Studies on some amphibian trematodes from Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal (Part I). Indian Journal of Helminthology. 22 (1):pp 61-78.