Dr. Murai Éva - Gubányi András szerk.: Parasitologia Hungarica 31. (Budapest, 1998)

Genov et al. (1996) put the material from Ondatra zibethicus, determined by Spasskii et al. (1951) as Aprostatandrya (A) macrocephala (Douthitt, 1915) Spasskii, 1949, into synonymy with the species P. aquatica Genov, Vasileva et Georgiev, 1996. We cannot answer this question because we could not examine available material. Nor can we perform a comparison of that material with the species P. genovi sp. n. The species P. genovi n. sp. is also related to the species Aprostatandrya macrocephala (Douthitt, 1915). We as well as Tenora (1998) have stated that the situation of testes of the holotype A. macrocephala corresponds to the description and illustration presented by Douthitt (1915): "The testes are dorsal, extending nearly if not entirely across the median field, and into the lateral field on the side away from the genital pore. On the pore side of the field, they are confined to the region anterior to the ovary, on the opposite side they are slightly more posterior than anterior". Testes do not extend fully across the lateral excretory canals in the aporal part of the segment (cf. Douthitt 1915, Plate I, Fig. 9). By these features and also by the fact that the external seminal vesicle of the species A macrocephala (Douthitt, 1915) is not provided by "prostatic" cells, this species differs from the species P. genovi sp. n. The species E genovi n. sp. also differs clearly from the description of Paranoplocephala macrocephala (Douthitt, 1915) sensu Genov et al., 1996 nec Douthitt, 1915 by the situation of testes. Genov et al. (1996) studied syntypes of the species P. macrocephala (USNPC 49517) which, of course, do not correspond to the original description of A. macrocephala (Douthitt, 1915) (cf. Douthitt, 1915 versus Genov et al. 1996). Genov et al. (1996) were aware of this fact, stating: "There is an important difference in pattern oLtestes distribution. We did not observe testes situated anteriorly to the ovary in the syntypes studied, as described and illustrated by Douthitt (1915)" (see Fig. 9 in Douthitt 1915). We, as well as Tenora (1998), assume that the material redescribed and illustrated by Genov et al. (1996) under the name P. macrocephala (Douthitt, 1915) needs new assessments. New aspects of the systematics of Anoplocephalinae parasitizing Rodentia have been discussed by various authors (Beveridge 1994; Gulyaev 1996; Gulyaev and Tchechulin 1996; Genov et al. 1996; Tenora 1998; Tenora et al. 1998), however, in the subfamily Anoplocephalinae the number of valid taxons on the generic level has not been determined in a satisfactory manner. These problems, of course, are beyond the scope of the present study. ACKNOWLEDGEMENT We are grateful to Dr. J. R. Lichtenfels (US Department of Agriculture, Beltsville) for lending the specimens oiAndrya macrocephala (Douthitt, 1915) holotype. We also thank Prof. Dr. T. Genov (Central Laboratory of General Ecology, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, Sofia) for depositing the paratypes of Paranoplocephala aquatica in the Hungarian Natural History Museum.