Filling the Gondwana gaps: new species and new reports of Beatogordius Heinze, 1934 (Nematomorpha) from Australia and Madagascar
We describe two new species of Beatogordius Heinze, 1934 (Nematomorpha), B. australiensis and B. lineatus, from Queensland, Australia. One further species, B. abbreviatus (Villot, 1874), which was known from Reunion, is reported from Madagascar. These new reports extend the range of Beatogordius from Africa and South America to include Madagascar and Australia. Beatogordius was likely distributed over the Gondwana continent prior to the separation of continental plates in the Mesozoic. This extends the existence of the taxon Nematomorpha, which was only known from young brown coal and amber, into the Mesozoic. Adhesive warts, structures anterior of the cloacal opening in males of B. abbreviatus, were originally described as characteristic structures of Gordionus Müller, 1927, but their occurrence in B. abbreviatus and one South American species indicates a wider distribution of this character.
Australian species of Chordodes (Nematomorpha) with a description of two new species, remarks on the genus Chordodes and its life history
Only seven species of freshwater Nematomorpha (Gordiida) are known from Australia, four of which belong to the genus Chordodes. This paper describes two new species: C. queenslandi and C. brevipilus. Chordodes queenslandi is characterized by a polymorphism of crowned areoles which appear as two types with distinct distribution patterns. Chordodes brevipilus is characterized by crowned areoles with very short apical filaments. One specimen previously determined as C. modiglianii (Camerano, 1892) belongs to C. queenslandi. Chordodes jandae Camerano, 1895 is redescribed according to the terminology introduced for C. queenslandi and C. brevipilus. Two further species, C. annulatus Linstow, 1906 and C. undulatus Linstow, 1906 do not belong to Chordodes. The newly reported specimens were collected emerging from praying mantids in the vicinity of water and escaped by contact of the host's abdomen with water. The active movement of mantids towards water suggests an internal stimulus of the nematomorph parasite to its host.
A reexamination of Neochordodes occidentalis (Montg.) comb. n. (Chordodidae: Gordioidea): larval penetration and defense reaction in Culex pipiens L.
The eggs, preparasitic larvae, and certain adult characters of Neochordodes occidentalis (Montg.) (Chordodidae: Gordioidea) are newly described. The method of penetration of preparasitic hairworms into larvae of Culex pipiens L. was examined. The parasites bored directly through the peritrophic membrane and epithelial gut cells to reach the host's body cavity. The hairworms encysted normally in most 2nd- and 3rd-stage mosquito larvae but elicited a rapid and often lethal defense reaction in 4th-stage hosts. This reaction consisted of the deposition of melanin on the surface of the parasite. Cyst material originated from a bilobed intestinal gland in the preparasitic larva and was not considered of host origin. Findings here indicate that characters found in the preparasitic larvae could be used for distinguishing between hairworm species.