Progynotaenia jaegerskioeldi; Pluvianus aegyptius, host of P. jaegerskioeldi; Leptotaenia ischnorhyncha; Phoenicopterus ruber, host of L. ischnorhyncha. (Photos courtesy of P. Nikolov)
Body small to medium in size. Scolex round to heart-shaped, with 4 suckers that are round or oval, cup-shaped or flattened, muscular or not, armed with or lacking spines. Rostellum and rostellar sac present, or occasionally absent. Rostellar hooks arranged in 1 or 2 rows. Neck very short and indistinct. Strobilar development protogynous. Proglottids, hermaphroditic or dioeceous with female and male proglottids alternating irregularly along length of strobila, craspedote or acraspedote. Male pores regularly or irregularly alternating. Male genital ducts passing ventrally, dorsally, or between osmoregulatory canals. Genital papilla retractable, digitiform. Testes in 1 or 2 groups. Cirrus-sac long, massive. Cirrus long, armed with several types of spiniform microtriches, additional chitinoid strucures may be present. Vagina absent. Secondary female copulatory organ may be present at posterior margin of proglottid. Ovary medial and arcuate, anterior and lobate, or antiporal and compact. Vitellarium compact, dorsal. Seminal receptacle oval, anterior or posterior to ovary. Uterus dorsal. Young uterus sac-like, arcuate, or tube-like, transversely or longitudinally elongated, may protrude into preceding proglottid. Gravid uterus with radial or bilateral diverticula. Eggs without filaments. Osmoregulatory canals branching or arranged in 2 pairs.
Seven nominal genera, 6 of which are considered valid, and 29 nominal species, 16 of which are considered valid. Two subfamilies (Progynotaeniinae and Gynandrotaeniinae) are recognized.
Selected References:
Ryzhikov, K. M. and L M. Tolkacheva. 1981. [Principles of Cestodology. Vol. X. Acoleata - cestodes of birds.] Moscow, Nauka, 215 p. [In Russian.]
Khalil, L. F. 1994. Family Progynotaeniidae Fuhrmann, 1936. pp. 381-389. In Khalil, L. F., Jones, A., Bray, R. A. (Eds.) Keys to the cestode parasites of vertebrates. CAB International, Wallingford, U.K.
Nikolov, P. N., B. B. Georgiev, and V. D. Gulyaev. 2004. New data on morphology of species of the genus Leptotaenia Cohn, 1901 (Cestoda, Progynotaeniidae). Systematic Parasitology 58: 1-15.
Nikolov, P. N., B. B. Georgiev, E. V. Gvozdev, and V. D. Gulyaev. 2005. Taxonomic revision of the cestodes of the family Progynotaeniidae (Cyclophyllidea) parasitising stone curlews (Charadriiformes: Burhinidae). Systematic Parasitology 61: 123-142. PDF
Taxon Coordinator:
Dr. Pavel Nikolov
Institute of Biodiversity and Ecosystem Research
Bulgarian Academy of Sciences
2 Gagarin Street
1113 Sofia
Bulgaria
E-MAIL: p_nikolov2001@yahoo.co.uk
