Dr. Murai Éva szerk.: Parasitologia Hungarica 13. (Budapest, 1980)

acter is the formation of the uterus. Its basic stem is very short, the side branches being always several times longer than the stem. The reduction of strobila is not a characteristic feature of the genus Meggittina, since this character appears also in the species of the genus Skrjabinotaenia, On the other hand, the reduction of strobila, the formation of fully gravid segments exhibited also in their inner morphology (basic longitudinal stem of uterus very short, side branches not numerous, several times longer than the stem) may thus reflect an evolutionary character (compare in Figs 1-13), The genus Rajotaenia Wertheim, 1954 is a synonym of the genus Meggittina Lynsdale, 1953. The genus Meggittina further includes the following species: 1. M.gerbilli (Wertheim, 1954), 2. M. aegyptica (Wolfgang, 1956), 3. M. cricetomydis (Hockley, 1961). KEY TO GENERA, SUBFAMILIES OF THE FAMILY CATENOTAENIIDAE (CATENOTAENIATA) 1. Testes situated only in lower part of proglottids, ovary always anterior to testes, genital openings in lower part of anterior third of proglottids CATENOTAENIINAE Spassky, 1949 2 Testes surrounding ovary in various ways, never only in lower part of proglottids, genital openings in upper part of anterior third of proglottids SKRJABINOTAENIINAE Genov et Tenora, 1979 5 2. Ovary symmetrical, horseshoe-shaped, vitelline gland situated posterior to ovary Quentinotaenia gen.nov. Ovary asymmetrical, vitelline gland situated near poral part of proglottis 3 3. Upper margin of ovary reaching the level of genital openings Hemicatenotaenia (Tenora, 1977) Genov et Tenora, 1979 Upper margin of ovary across the level of genital openings 4 4. Testes overlapping lateral excretory canals bilaterally Pseudocatenotaenia gen. nov. Testes not overlapping excretory canals Catenotaenia Janicki, 1904 5. Basic longitudinal stem of uterus long with numerous side branches, latter shorter than the basic stem Skrjabinotaenia Akhumyan, 1946 Basic longitudinal stem of uterus very short, only with a few side branches, latter longer than the basic stem JVIeggittina Lynsdale, 1953 HYPOTHESIS ON THE EVOLUTION OF CESTODES OF THE SUBORDER CATENOTAENIATA (Figs. 27 and 28) According to SPASSKV (19 51), the ancestors of the Catenotaenia species belonged to primitive cestodes of the suborder Anoplocephalata. QUENTIN (1971) supposes that the Cate notaenia cestodes are the progeny of the Ichthyotaeniidae becoming parasites of rodents earlier than in the Oligocène. TENORA (19 76) expressed his opinion that the Catenotaenia group may be derived from cestodes parasitic in reptilians, namely from the genus Oochoris- tica. According to FREEMAN (1973), the Catenotaeniidae have common ancestors with the Protocephalidae and later derived Taeniidae. SPASSKY (1978) concluded, similarly to FREEMAN (1973), that the most closely related suborder to Catenotaeniata is Proteocephalata. A comparative analysis of the host and geographical distribution pictures of both Catenotaeniidae subfamilies suggests that the Catenotaeniinae are the most archaic forms.