L. Forró - É. Murai szerk.: Miscellanea Zoologica Hungarica 5. 1989 (Budapest, 1989)
Murai, É.: Ceratozetes gracilis (Michael, 1884) (Acari: Oribatida), an intermediate host of Vampirolepis asymmetrica (Janicki, 1904) (Cestoda: Hymenolepididae)
DISCUSSION Vampirolepis asymmetrica is a common parasite in Arvicolidae species in Europe. In the Carpathian Basin our work-team found it in Arvicola te rrestris Linné, 1758; in Micro- tus arvalis Pallas, 1779; M. agrestis Linné, 1761; M. nivalis Martins, 1842; Pitymys snb- terraneus De Selys-Longchamps , 1836; P. tatricus Kratochvil, 1952; as well as in Clethrionomys glareolus Schreber, 1780. Many authors documented with figures and with the exact measurements of morphological features, that this parasite is spread all over Europe (BAER and TENORA 1970; FELIU, GISBERT and REY 1985; GENOV 1984; JOYEUX and BAER 1936; MÉSZÁROS and MURAI 1979; MURAI 1974; TENORA and MURAI 1972, 1976; and so on). ERHARDOVÁ f 19551 described a new species: Hymenolepis ampla from Microtus nivalis in the High-Tatra Mountains, but this species is synonymous with V. asymmetrica (BAER and TENORA 1970). PROKOPIC (1970a, 1970b, 1970c,' 1972) and PROKOPIC and MAUER (19691 recorded the occurrence of V. asymmetric a at many localities in Czechoslovakia. They found it not only in microtid hosts but in Apodemus species, too. These papers contain neither descriptions nor illustrations, and are used for ecological studies. Considering the life cycle of cestodes parasitizing small mammals PROKOPIC ( 19 70a, 1972) and PROKOPIC and MAUER (1969) described oribatid mites as intermediate hosts of V. asymmetrica (and of V. straminea, see afterwards). This succesful experimental infestations of mites with the eggs of V. asymmetrica elucidated the life cycle of this species. Two mite species served as intermediate hosts in laboratory: Scheloribates laevigatus (C. L. Koch, 18361 and Achipteria coleoptrata (Linné, 1758). We found Ceratozetes gracilis (Michael, 1884) naturally infested with V. asymmetrica cysticercoid. PROKOPld (1962, 1966, 1970a, 19721 and PROKOPIC and MAUER Í1969) recorded the cysticercoid of V. straminea from oribatid mites and the adult worms from various rodents (five Arvicolidae, three Muridae and one Cricetidae species). In PROKOPIC (1962) a detailed description, 5 figures and 3 photographs were given. The cysticercoid were found in naturally infested oribatid mite: Achipteria coleoptrata. Eggs of adult worms from Microtus arvalis were used in laboratory experiments. This paper provides us with sufficient documentation; however we must note, that the photographs, the measurements of the rostellar hooks, as well as the short description are not characteristic of V. straminea , but exactly of V. asymmetrica. The cysticercoids mentioned above with 18-22 rostellar hooks, 0.018 mm in length, the definitive host, and the morphology of adult worms are identical with V. asymmetrica. This is why we did not accept oribatid mites as intermediate hosts of V. straminea. Fig. 8. Cysticercoid of V. asymmetrica (orig.)
