Contributions to the helminth fauna of South Africa

Abstract

Whereas the South American and Australian helminth-fauna is comparatively well known, that of South Africa has been sadly neglected until recent years. The probable reason of this is that scientific explorers do not generally trouble to collect intestinal parasites either because of the extra trouble incurred, or else underestimating the importance of this factor for faunistic studies. It was with this fact in mind that Sir Arnold Theiler, K.C.M.G., Director of the Veterinary Research Laboratory, Onderstepoort, Pretoria, had collected all the intestinal parasites from the animals shot for museum purposes in the districts outlying Pretoria. This valuable collection, which was presented to Prof. 0. Fuhrmann a few years ago, consists chiefly of nematodes and of avian cestodes, the mammalian cestodes studied in this paper representing about one-quarter of the whole collection. As was to be expected, of the twenty-two species examined, nine are new to science, including two new genera and one new family. Of the nineteen hosts, fifteen have to our knowledge never been recorded before as harbouring cestode parasites. We have been able to clear up certain points of systematic interest. This represents, however, an infinitesimal portion of the work left to be done with regard to mammalian cestodes. Certain genera are in much need of revision: the genus Taenia s. str. is an example. To our mind, only good results are to be obtained from the study of the original species, and any species insufficiently described of which no types or cotypes exist should be suppressed. This seems to be the only way of straightening out the synonymy of certain groups, in which much confusion has been caused of late by "occasional helminthologists," whose only aim seems to be to place their name behind a species. The results of our studies have showed us that authors do not generally take into consideration the individual variation of a species, variation which, as we will show, may be very great in certain cases. The role of the host should also be considered, and would prevent authors committing such absurdities as the recording of species of Anoplocephala, Davainea, and Hymenolepis from marine fishes!