Acta Parasitologica, Vol. 50, No. 3, 2005, 194-198 John M. Kinsella(1)* and Vasyl V. Tkach(2,3) - Notocotylus fosteri sp. nov. (Trematoda, Notocotylidae) from the rice rat, Oryzomys palustris in Florida
(1)HelmWest Laboratory, 2108 Hilda Avenue, Missoula, Montana, 59801 U.S.A.; (2)Department of Biology, University of North Dakota Grand Forks, P.O. Box 9019, Grand Forks, North Dakota, 58202-9019 U.S.A.; (3)Institute of Parasitology, Polish Academy of Sciences, 51/55 Twarda Street, 00-818, Warsaw, Poland
*Corresponding author: wormdwb@aol.com
ABSTRACT
Notocotylus fosteri sp. nov. (Trematoda, Notocotylidae) is described from the caecum of the rice rat, Oryzomys palustris, from a salt marsh on Waccasassa Bay, Florida, U.S.A. The new species differs from previously described Notocotylus species principally in the extreme prebifurcal position of the genital pore, which overlies the posterior margin of the oral sucker, but also by the number of ventral papillae (10-13/row), and the length of the metraterm relative to the cirrus sac (89%). This is only the second species of this genus found in North American mammals.
KEY WORDS: Trematoda, Digenea, Notocotylidae, Notocotylus fosteri, rice rat, Oryzomys palustris, Florida, U.S.A.