Spirometra species

Spirometra species

<p align="CENTER"><span style="color: #000000"><span style="font-size: large"><i><b>Spirometra</b></i></span></span><span style="color: #000000"><span style="font-size: large"><b> species</b></span></span></p> <p align="JUSTIFY"><span style="color: #000000"><span style="font-size: medium"> The taxonomy of the genus </span></span><span style="color: #000000"><span style="font-size: medium"><i>Spirometra</i></span></span><span style="color: #000000"><span style="font-size: medium"> is very confused for reasons ranging from inadequate descriptions to assumptions made that specimens of larval forms recovered from intermediate or paratenic hosts in Asia are the same as those recovered from related hosts in Europe. It is also apparent that authors had initially tried to assume that the same final host would indicate specimens of the same species. For those interested in reading about the history of this confusion, it is recommended that they examine the section on </span></span><span style="color: #000000"><span style="font-size: medium"><i>Spirometra</i></span></span><span style="color: #000000"><span style="font-size: medium"> in Wardle and McLeod (1952).</span></span></p> <p align="JUSTIFY"><span style="color: #000000"><span style="font-size: medium"> For the purpose of the text that follows, two major species of </span></span><span style="color: #000000"><span style="font-size: medium"><i>Spirometra</i></span></span><span style="color: #000000"><span style="font-size: medium"> are recognized. </span></span><span style="color: #000000"><span style="font-size: medium"><i>Spirometra </i></span></span><span style="color: #000000"><span style="font-size: medium"><i>erinaceieuropaei </i></span></span><span style="color: #000000"><span style="font-size: medium">(Rudolphi, 1819) is discussed as the representative of specimens mainly from Europe and Asia, although this species has also been reported from the Americas. </span></span><span style="color: #000000"><span style="font-size: medium"><i>Spirometra </i></span></span><span style="color: #000000"><span style="font-size: medium"><i>mansonoides</i></span></span><span style="color: #000000"><span style="font-size: medium"> Mueller, 1935 is considered to represent specimens that are mainly from the Americas. This classification is likely to be less than perfect, however, it represents a beginning that can be used to allow information to be gained on these parasites. In recent years, very little attention has been given to the actual identity of the species of </span></span><span style="color: #000000"><span style="font-size: medium"><i>Spirometra</i></span></span><span style="color: #000000"><span style="font-size: medium"> present in cats in any given area, and it is hoped that further examination of specific characters will allow the identification of the important species infecting cats.</span></span></p> <p align="JUSTIFY"><span style="color: #000000"><span style="font-size: medium"> Four other species has been described from felids. One species is </span></span><span style="color: #000000"><span style="font-size: medium"><i>Spirometra </i></span></span><span style="color: #000000"><span style="font-size: medium"><i>felis</i></span></span><span style="color: #000000"><span style="font-size: medium"> which was described by Southwell (1928) for specimens recovered from </span></span><span style="color: #000000"><span style="font-size: medium"><i>Felis</i></span></span><span style="color: #000000"><span style="font-size: medium"><i>tigris</i></span></span><span style="color: #000000"><span style="font-size: medium"> and </span></span><span style="color: #000000"><span style="font-size: medium"><i>Felis</i></span></span><span style="color: #000000"><span style="font-size: medium"><i>pardus</i></span></span><span style="color: #000000"><span style="font-size: medium"> in the Calcutta Zoological Gardens, and Southwell believed them the same as the </span></span><span style="color: #000000"><span style="font-size: medium"><i>Spirometra </i></span></span><span style="color: #000000"><span style="font-size: medium"><i>felis</i></span></span><span style="color: #000000"><span style="font-size: medium"> described as </span></span><span style="color: #000000"><span style="font-size: medium"><i>Bothriocephalus </i></span></span><span style="color: #000000"><span style="font-size: medium"><i>felis</i></span></span><span style="color: #000000"><span style="font-size: medium"> by Creplin (1825) from a domestic cat. A second species, </span></span><span style="color: #000000"><span style="font-size: medium"><i>Spirometra </i></span></span><span style="color: #000000"><span style="font-size: medium"><i>decipiens</i></span></span><span style="color: #000000"><span style="font-size: medium"> was originally described from a "cat-like” animal in Brazil by Diesing (1850). Chandler (1925) supposedly "rediscovered” </span></span><span style="color: #000000"><span style="font-size: medium"><i>Spirometra </i></span></span><span style="color: #000000"><span style="font-size: medium"><i>decipiens</i></span></span><span style="color: #000000"><span style="font-size: medium"> in a domestic cat and a </span></span><span style="color: #000000"><span style="font-size: medium"><i>Felis</i></span></span><span style="color: #000000"><span style="font-size: medium"><i>nebulosa</i></span></span><span style="color: #000000"><span style="font-size: medium"> in the Calcutta Zoological Gardens. In Uruguay, Wolffhügel and Vogelsang (1926) described </span></span><span style="color: #000000"><span style="font-size: medium"><i>Spirometra </i></span></span><span style="color: #000000"><span style="font-size: medium"><i>decipiens</i></span></span><span style="color: #000000"><span style="font-size: medium"> from forms obtained by feeding dogs larvae from frogs, and these authors claimed they were the same as </span></span><span style="color: #000000"><span style="font-size: medium"><i>Spirometra </i></span></span><span style="color: #000000"><span style="font-size: medium"><i>longicolle</i></span></span><span style="color: #000000"><span style="font-size: medium"> from a </span></span><span style="color: #000000"><span style="font-size: medium"><i>Felis </i></span></span><span style="color: #000000"><span style="font-size: medium"><i>jaguarondi</i></span></span><span style="color: #000000"><span style="font-size: medium"> in Argentina. Faust et al. (1929) recovered specimens identified as </span></span><span style="color: #000000"><span style="font-size: medium"><i>Spirometra </i></span></span><span style="color: #000000"><span style="font-size: medium"><i>decipiens</i></span></span><span style="color: #000000"><span style="font-size: medium"> from a cat, a leopard, and a dog in China and obtained the same form by feeding larvae from frogs to dogs. Saleque et al. (1990) described a case of </span></span><span style="color: #000000"><span style="font-size: medium"><i>Spirometra</i></span></span><span style="color: #000000"><span style="font-size: medium"> in a cat in India that was not assigned to any certain species. Two other species have been reported from non-domestic cats in the Americas. </span></span><span style="color: #000000"><span style="font-size: medium"><i>Spirometra </i></span></span><span style="color: #000000"><span style="font-size: medium"><i>gracile</i></span></span><span style="color: #000000"><span style="font-size: medium"> was described from small specimens recovered from </span></span><span style="color: #000000"><span style="font-size: medium"><i>Felis </i></span></span><span style="color: #000000"><span style="font-size: medium"><i>macrura</i></span></span><span style="color: #000000"><span style="font-size: medium"> in Brazil. </span></span><span style="color: #000000"><span style="font-size: medium"><i>Spirometra </i></span></span><span style="color: #000000"><span style="font-size: medium"><i>urichi</i></span></span><span style="color: #000000"><span style="font-size: medium"> was recovered from an ocelot in Trinidad and described by Cameron (1936).</span></span></p> <p align="JUSTIFY"><span style="color: #000000"><span style="font-size: medium"><b>REFERENCES:</b></span></span></p> <p align="JUSTIFY"><span style="color: #000000"><span style="font-size: medium">Cameron TWM. 1936. Studies on the endoparasitic fauna of Trinidad. III. Some parasites of Trinidad carnivora. Can J Res 14:25-38.</span></span></p> <p align="JUSTIFY"><span style="color: #000000"><span style="font-size: medium">Chandler AC. 1925. The helminthic parasites of cats in Calcutta and the relation of cat to human helminthic infections. Ind J Med Res 13:213-220.</span></span></p> <p align="JUSTIFY"><span style="color: #000000"><span style="font-size: medium">Creplin FCH. 1825. </span></span><span style="color: #000000"><span style="font-size: medium"><span style="text-decoration: underline">Observactiones de entozois</span></span></span><span style="color: #000000"><span style="font-size: medium">. 86 pages. Gryphiswaldiae.</span></span></p> <p align="JUSTIFY"><span style="color: #000000"><span style="font-size: medium">Diesing KM. 1850. </span></span><span style="color: #000000"><span style="font-size: medium"><span style="text-decoration: underline">System helminthum 2</span></span></span><span style="color: #000000"><span style="font-size: medium">. Vienna, Austria.</span></span></p> <p align="JUSTIFY"><span style="color: #000000"><span style="font-size: medium">Faust EC, Campbell HE, Kellogg CR. 1929. Morphological and biological studies on the species of </span></span><span style="color: #000000"><span style="font-size: medium"><i>Diphyllobothrium</i></span></span><span style="color: #000000"><span style="font-size: medium"> in China. Am J Hyg 9:560-583.</span></span></p> <p align="JUSTIFY"><span style="color: #000000"><span style="font-size: medium">Saleque A, Juyal PD, Bhatia BB. 1990. </span></span><span style="color: #000000"><span style="font-size: medium"><i>Spirometra</i></span></span><span style="color: #000000"><span style="font-size: medium"> sp. in a domestic cat in India. Vet Parasitol 35:273-276.</span></span></p> <p align="JUSTIFY"><span style="color: #000000"><span style="font-size: medium">Southwell T. 1928. Cestodes of the order Pseudophyllidea recorded from India and Ceylon. Ann Trop Med Parasitol 22:419-448.</span></span></p> <p align="JUSTIFY"><span style="color: #000000"><span style="font-size: medium">Wardle RA, McLeod JA. 1952. </span></span><span style="color: #000000"><span style="font-size: medium"><span style="text-decoration: underline">The Zoology of Tapeworms</span></span></span><span style="color: #000000"><span style="font-size: medium">. Hafner Publishing Company, New York, USA (facsimile, 1968 printing)</span></span></p> <p align="JUSTIFY"><span style="color: #000000"><span style="font-size: medium">Wolffhügel K, Vogelsang EG. 1926. </span></span><span style="color: #000000"><span style="font-size: medium"><i>Dibothriocephalus </i></span></span><span style="color: #000000"><span style="font-size: medium"><i>decipiens</i></span></span><span style="color: #000000"><span style="font-size: medium"> (Diesing) y su larva </span></span><span style="color: #000000"><span style="font-size: medium"><i>Sparganum </i></span></span><span style="color: #000000"><span style="font-size: medium"><i>reptans</i></span></span><span style="color: #000000"><span style="font-size: medium"> en el Uruguay. Rev Med Vet, Montevideo Jg 2:433-434.</span></span></p>