DESCRIPTION OF A NEW GENUS AND SPECIES OF NEM-ATODE WORM OCCURRING IN THE NORTHWESTERNBELTED KINGFISHER, WITH A KEY TO THE GENERAOF THE SUBFAMILY ACUARIINAEBy EvEEETT E. WehrAssistant Zoologist, Zoological Division, Bureau of Animal Industry, UnitedStates Range Livestock Exjjeriment Station, Miles City, Mont.
Underneath the corneous membrane of the gizzard of the north-western belted kingfisher {CeryJe alcyon ca'U7^ina)^ a bird quite com-mon about the lakes and streams of the United States Range Live-stock Experiment Station, Miles City, Mont., small nematodes occurvery frequently. The nematode belongs to the family AcuariidaeSeurat, 1913, and to the subfamily Acuariinae Railliet, Henry, andSisoff, 1912. This species belongs to a new genus, for which the nameAviculariella is proposed.The author wishes to express his sincere thanks to Dr. Eloise B.Cram, also of the zoological division, for her very helpful suggestionsduring the course of this study.AVICULARIELLA, new genusGeneric diagnosis.?Acuariinae : Body delicate, slender, and taper-ing toward the extremities. Cuticle about head inflated. Cordonsrestricted to cephalic region, triangular, serrated on their innerborders, not recurrent, but anastomosing posteriorly in pairs in thelateral fields. Spicules unequal and dissimilar. Caudal alae present.Vulva near anus. Parasitic in the gizzard of birds.Type species.?Aviculariella alcyona^ new species.AVICULARIELLA ALCYONA, new speciesFigures 1 to 5SpeoifiG diagnosis.?Aviculariella: Cuticle of the cephalic regionmuch inflated. The cordons, which are confined to the cephalic re-gion, are triangular in shape. Posteriorly the two cordons of eachside do not anastomose in an exactly straight line across the body, butanastomose after they have curved very slightly toward the head end.Male.?6 to 7 mm. long by 102/1, wide near the equator of the body.The body is very slender and tapers gradually toward the two ex-No. 2871.?Proceedings U. S. National Museum. Vol. 79, Art. 5.52397?31 1
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treniities. Cuticle Avitli distinct transverse striations except in theregion surrounding the head. The cuticle about the head is dilatedand at its broadest point measures 54/a in width. The cephalic vesicle
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Aviculariella alcyona, new species. 1, Dorsal view of head of female
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2, lateral view of head of female ; 3, right spicule ; 4, tip of left spicule ; 5, posteriorextremit.v of maleo. o.. Anal opening; c. p., cervical papilla; c. v., cephalic vesicle; ep., epaulet-likecordon; ph., pharynx; I. ?., left spicule; pa., papillae; r. s., right spiculeextends back from the anterior end of the body for a distance of ll^fx.The cervical papillae are located slightly anterior to the union of thepharynx and the anterior division of the esophagus, 163m posterior to
ART. A NEW N'EMATODE FROM THE KINGFISHER WEHR 3the tip of the head, and -il/x posterior to the termination of thecephalic vesicle. The cordons extend posteriorly from the base ofthe lips for a distance of 27/x. The inner edges of the cordons aretoothed or serrated. Mouth with two conical, projecting lips, eachbearing a pair of submedian cephalic papillae. The caudal extremityis tightly coiled in the preserved specimens, and it was impossible tosecure a satisfactory view of either the dorsal or ventral surface.Caudal alae are present and these alae bear 8 pairs of papillae. 5of which are postanal and 3 preanal. Four of the 5 pairs of postanalpapillae are apparently pedunculated, whereas the most posteriorpair, situated near the tip of the posterior end, is sessile. Thespicules are unequal and dissimilar. The right spicule is short andthick, consisting of a strongly chitinized part which is rounded atthe distal end, and a hyaline portion extending beyond this whichhas a groove cut out of its free end, this portion resembling some-what a bird's beak ; the spicule is 143/;. long and 34ja wide. The leftspicule is nearly three times as long as the right, and more slender,being 408/u, long and 17ijl wide, and has a rounded distal end.Female.?IT to 18 mm. long by 150/x wide. The head at its widestpoint is 61/u, wide. The cephalic vesicle terminates 136/x from thetip of the anterior extremity; the cervical papillae are ITOju, from theanterior extremity. The cordons are triangular in shape as in themale, and extend 30/x from the base of the lips. The pharynx is175 to 214:/x long by 8.5/* wide ; the anterior esophagus about 610/a to650|U, long, and the posterior esophagus 1.5 to 2.1 mm. long by 51/i,wide. The slightlj^ depressed vulva is situated in the posterior partof the body near the anal opening, the distance between the tvfoorifices being 476/x. From the vulva the ovejector courses in aposterior direction for a distance of 360/*, then turns anteriad tojoin the uterus. The anal opening lies 82/i, anterior to the tip of theposterior extremity of the body. The embryonated eggs measure31/x by 20/1.Host.?Northwestern belted kingfisher [Ceryle aJcyon caurina).Location.?Gizzard.Distribution.?Montana (Miles City), United States.Type specimen.?U.S.^.M. No. 29848.KEY TO THE GENERA OF ACUARIINAE1. Ornamentation of the anterior end in the form of cordons extending pos-teriorly from the liead along the cervical region, usually in the sub-median fields (Acuaria, s. 1.) 2Ornamentation of a nature different from the above, or cordons, in eithercase confined to cephalic region 82. Cordons not recurrent, not anastomosing 3Cordons recurrent or anastomosing, or both 4
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3. Both spicules thick and only slightly unequal; 6 to 8 pairs of postanalpapillae AcuariaSpicules very dissimilar and very unequal ; 5 to 7 pairs of postanalpapillae Cheilospirura4. Cordons not recurrent, but anastomosing 5Cordons recurrent, anastomosing or separate 65. Cuticle raised in front of postcervical papillae to form a large collar orsheath ; cordons anastomose on the free posterior border of thecollar ChevreuxiaNo such sheath or collar present Echinurla6. Cordons recurrent but not anastomosing DispharynxCordons recurrent and anastomosing 77. Cordons form a loop directly after their origin in the head, and not flatagainst body but applied to margin of plates or alae; lateral alae presentOn body CosmocephalusCordons with loops lacking at their anterior ends, and applied directly tobody; no lateral alae Synhimantus8. Cephalic ornamentation consisting of a narrow denticulated collar, which isthe margin of a depression surrounding the head at the base of the lips
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cervical papillae large and crescent-shaped, with numerous teeth.StreptocaraCephalic ornamentation not in the form of a collar, but of epaulets or alateappendages ; cervical papillae not as above 99. Cephalic ornamentation consisting of 4 delicate membranous alae directedposteriorly SciadiocaraCephalic ornamentation not as above 1010. Cervical papillae tricuspid; body with two rows of posteriorly directedhooks SeuratiaCervical papillae simple ; no rows of hooks on body 1111. Cephalic ornamentation consisting of two crescent-shaped cordons, the freeedges of which are smooth; no cephalic vesicle E,usguniellaCephalic ornamentation consisting of two triangular-shaped cordons, theinner edges of which are dentate; cephalic vesicle present AviculariellaREFERENCESCram, E. B.1927. Bird parasites of the nematode suborders Strongylata, Ascaridata,and Spirurata. U. S. Nat. Mus. Bull. 140, xvii-t-463 pp. 444 figs.YoBKE, Warrington, and Maplestone, P. A,192G. The nematode parasites of vertebrates, xi+536 pp., 307 figs,London.
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