Lemdana wernaarti n.sp. and other filarioid nematodes from Bubo virginianus and Asio otus (Strigiformes) in Ontario, Canada, with a revision of Lemdana and a key to avian filarioid genera

Abstract

Lemdana wernaarti n.sp. from connective tissue around the lower trachea of Bubo virginianus and Asio otus in Ontario, Canada, is distinguished by a single pair of caudal papillae, a preanal swelling, and a spicular length ratio of 4:1. The generic diagnosis of Lemdana Seurat, 1917 is emended and Singhfilaria Rasheed, 1960, Ameeria Ali, 1961, and Lemdanella Sonin, 1963, are placed in its synonymy. Eight valid species are recognized, including Lemdana pavonica (Rasheed, 1960) n.comb., Lemdana sultanae (Ali, 1961) n.comb., and Lemdana hayesi (Anderson and Prestwood, 1969) n.comb. Four additional species (Lemdana subspirallis (Diesing, 1851); Lemdana behningi Levashov, 1929; Lemdana lomonti Desportes, 1947; and Lemdana dartevellei Ezzat and Tadros, 1958) are considered species incertae sedis, and Eulimdana cypseli (Annett, Dutton, and Elliott, 1901) n.comb. is proposed for Lemdana cypseli (Annett, Dutton, and Elliot, 1901) Bartlett and Anderson, 1980. Splendidofilaria caperata Hibler, 1964 and a bossate Splendidofilaria sp. were also found in Asio otus; this is the first report of S. caperata in nonpasseriform birds. A key is given to the 16 genera containing filarioids parasitizing birds. Literature references to recent generic reviews and subsequent species descriptions are given and the following are proposed: Aproctella thahari (Gupta and Kumar, 1977) n.comb. for Carinema thahari Gupta and Kumar, 1977; Chandlerella hepatica (Schmidt and Kuntz, 1970) n.comb. for Parornithofilaria hepatica Schmidt and Kuntz, 1970; Aprocta pitangi (Vicente, Pinto, and Noronha, 1981) n.comb. for Ornithofilaria pitangi Vicente, Pinto, and Noronha, 1981; and Aprocta longispiculum (Ilyas, 1980) n.comb. for Splendidofilaria longispiculum Ilyas, 1981. The number of valid species in each genus is also indicated; only six genera have more than 10 species and five genera are monotypic.