Ophiotaenia lapata sp. n. (Eucestoda: Proteocephalidea) from Madagascar: A parasite of the endemic snake Madagascarophis colubrinus (Colubridae)

Abstract

A new proteocephalidean cestode, Ophiotaenia lapata sp. n., is described from the gut of the endemic colubrid snake Madagascarophis colubrinus (Schlegel, 1837) (Colubridae) from Madagascar. The new species differs from all but one Ophiotaenia species parasitic in African snakes by the presence of an apical organ. Ophiotaenia lapata differs from O. adiposa Rudin, 1917, which also possesses an apical organ, by the number of testes (89-170 in the new species versus 170-220 in O. adiposà), by the position of the genital pore in relation to the anterior margin (43-53% of proglottis length in O. lapata versus 20-25%) and the scolex width (240-280 urn in the former species versus 500-600 urn in the latter). The new species possesses, unlike all but one Ophiotaenia species parasitic in African snakes, a three-layered embryophore. The other African species have two-layered embryophore except for Ophiotaenia georgievi de Chambrier, Ammann & Scholz, 2010, which can be distinguished by the absence of an apical organ, by the number of uterine branches on each side (23-28 in O. georgievi versus 41-68 in O. lapata) and by the total length of the strobila (50 mm in O. georgievi and 295 mm in O. lapata). Ophiotaenia lapata is the third proteocephalidean cestode reported from Madagascar.