Skrjabinotaenia (Meggittina) baeri ( Lynsdale, 1953 ) Tenora, 1964

Skrjabinotaenia (Meggittina) baeri ( Lynsdale, 1953) Tenora, 1964

Synonyms: Meggittina baeri Lynsdale, 1953 , Catenotaenia baeri ( Lynsdale, 1953) Wolfgang, 1956 .

The syntypes of S. (M.) baeri are deposited in NHM.

Description: Strobila transversely elongate, consisting of 2–3 proglottids. Fully developed strobila usually with one immature proglottid, one premature or mature proglottid and one prominently extended pregravid or gravid proglottid. Fully mature proglottid ca. 9 mm wide. Scolex inconspicuous, embedded in strobila. Diameter of suckers ca. 100. Genital pores evidently regularly alternating, positioned near anterior margin of proglottid. Osmoregulatory system not described.

Testes 250–350 in number, slightly more numerous on antiporal side, positioned as two widely separate lateral groups. Cirrus sac slender, 290–310 long and 40–60 wide, slightly curved. Distal vas deferens coiled. External and internal seminal vesicles evidently lacking.

Structure of ovary undefined. Vitellarium elongate, very wide, bilobed; lateral lobe significantly larger than median one. Vagina relatively short or ca. 1.3 times length of cirrus sac. Seminal receptacle ovoid or ellipsoidal, divided into two compartments. Uterus with very short anterior stem and distinct anterior appendage, and 2–3 primary branches on each side, which give off numerous short secondary branches from “posterior” side only. Eggs 20 in diameter, embryophore 8–12.

Remarks. The present description is based on the measurements and illustrations of S. (M.) baeri by Lynsdale (1953) from the “house rat” and “native granary rat” from Honde, eastern Rhodesia (present-day Zimbabwe). The hosts most likely belong to the subfamily Murinae but probably do not include the commensal black rat Rattus rattus Fischer because it is not known to be parasitized by species of Skrjabinotaenia or Meggittina . Although the original description of S. (M.) baeri is fairly extensive, it includes limited quantitative data and the morphology of certain organs was misinterpreted. Specifically, the vitellarium was misidentified as the ovary and the latter was therefore stated to be poral in position, and the median lobe of the vitellarium was mistaken for the “shell gland” (i.e. Mehlis’ gland).

In addition to the original description from Zimbabwe, S. (M.) baeri -like cestodes have been reported from murine rodents in the Central African Republic ( Quentin 1971) and South Africa ( Spickett et al. 2017 a, 2019; Haukisalmi et al. 2018), and from nesomyid rodents in Madagascar ( Quentin & Durette-Desset 1974; Haukisalmi et al. 2010, 2018) ( Table 1 View TABLE 1 ). The report of S. (M.) baeri from Cricetomys gambianus Waterhouse ( Cricetomyinae ) in Nigeria ( Ibrahim et al. 1984) probably concerns S. (M.) cricetomydis .

Due to the limitations of the original description, a more detailed description of a S. (M.) baeri -like form from South Africa is presented below.