Comparative Parasitology 67(1) 2000 - Peru State College

Comp. Parasitol.
67(1), 2000 pp. 51-59
Two New Species of Popovastrongylus Mawson, 1977 (Nematoda:
Cloacinidae) from Macropodid Marsupials in Australia
L. R. SMALES
School of Biological and Environmental Sciences, Central Queensland University, Rockhampton,
Queensland 4702, Australia (e-mail: l.warner@cqu.edu.au)
ABSTRACT: The cephalic anatomy of Popovastrongylus wallabiae (Johnson and Mawson) is described, giving
additional morphological details. New species of Popovastrongylus (Nematoda: Cloacinidae: Cloacininae) are
described. Popovastrongylus tasmaniensis sp. n. from Thylogale billardierii (Desmarest) from Tasmania, Australia,
has an oval mouth opening and buccal capsule, and the intestinal wall extends anteriorly to surround the
esophageal bulb. Popovastrongylus pluteus sp. n. from Macropus robust us Gould from New South Wales,
Australia, is similar to Popovastrongylus pearsoni (Johnson and Mawson) in having, among other characters, a
shelf-like projection in the buccal capsule. It differs from P. pearsoni in having a circular mouth opening and
buccal capsule rather than a quadrangular mouth opening and slightly oval buccal capsule. Species of Popovastrongylus
infect mainly pademelons, Thylogale spp., and the smaller wallabies, Macropus rufogriseus Desmarest,
Macropus irma (Desmarest), and Macropus eugenii (Desmarest). It also occurs in the larger kangaroos,
Macropus rufus (Desmarest), Macropus giganteus Shaw, and M. robustus, in northern Australia where it is
uncommon. In southern Australia the only kangaroo hosts known are Macropus fuliginosus (Desmarest) on
Kangaroo Island, off the shore of South Australia, M. robustus in New South Wales, and an accidental infection
of M. robustus in the Australian Capital Territory.
KEY WORDS: Nematoda, marsupials, macropodids, Popovastrongylus wallabiae, Popovastrongylus tasmaniensis
sp. n., Popovastrongylus pluteus sp. n., Macropus robustus, Thylogale billardierii, taxonomy, Australia.
More than 40 genera of the strongylid family
Cloacinidae (Stossich, 1899) are found in the
large herbivorous marsupials, kangaroos, wallabies,
and wombats of Australia, Irian Jaya, and
Papua New Guinea (Beveridge, 1987). Popovastrongylus
Mawson, 1977, was erected to contain
those species occurring in the stomachs of
macropodid marsupials (kangaroos and wallabies)
that had, among other characters, 4 submedian
papillae and 2 amphids borne on a cephalic
collar, a circular to oval mouth opening,
and a cylindrical to oval buccal capsule with a
thick transparent inner layer that may form a
shelf-like structure in the lumen. Mawson
(1977) included 3 species, Popovastrongylus
wallabiae (Johnston and Mawson, 1939), the
type species, Popovastrongylus pearsoni (Johnston
and Mawson, 1940), and Popovastrongylus
irma Mawson, 1977, in the new genus. Subsequently
Beveridge (1986) revised the group, expanding
the generic definition to encompass a
quadrilateral, triangular, or small and triradiate
mouth opening and to include a labial collar, internal
to the cephalic collar, the buccal capsule
sclerotized, often with annular thickening, and
the lining inflated and/or forming a shelf. He
redescribed P. pearsoni, indicating additional
features not given in the earlier descriptions by
51
Johnston and Mawson (1939) and Mawson
(1971, 1977) and described 2 new species, Popovastrongylus
macropodis Beveridge, 1986,
and Popovastrongylus thylogale Beveridge,
1986.
Known hosts for species of Popovastrongylus
are Macropus rufogriseus (Desmarest, 1817)
(the red-necked wallaby); Macropus fuliginosus
(Desmarest, 1817) (the western grey kangaroo);
Macropus eugenii (Desmarest, 1817) (the tammar
wallaby); Macropus irma (Jourdan, 1837)
(the western brush wallaby); Macropus rufus
(Desmarest, 1822) (the red kangaroo); Macropus
giganteus Shaw, 1790 (the eastern grey kangaroo);
Macropus robustus Gould, 1841 (the common
wallaroo); Thylogale stigmatica Gould,
1860 (the red-legged pademelon); Thylogale
brunii (Schreber, 1778) (the dusky pademelon);
Thylogale thetis (Lesson, 1827) (the red-necked
pademelon); and Petrogale persephone Maynes,
1982 (the Proserpine rock-wallaby).
Collections of material from M. robustus and
Thylogale billardierii (Desmarest, 1822) in the
South Australian Museum, Adelaide (SAMA),
were found to have 2 new species of Popovastrongylus,
which are described in this paper.
The cephalic anatomy of P. wallabiae, examined
for comparative puiposes, is also described in
greater detail than previously given.
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