Description of Paranoplocephala etholeni n. sp. (Cestoda: Anoplocephalidae) in the meadow vole Microtus pennsylvanicus, with a synopsis of Paranoplocephala s. l. in Holarctic rodents

Description of Paranoplocephala etholeni n. sp. (Cestoda: Anoplocephalidae) in the meadow vole Microtus pennsylvanicus, with a synopsis of Paranoplocephala s. l. in Holarctic rodents

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Paranoplocephala etholeni n.sp., parasitizing the 3-06 N meadow vole Microtus pennsylvanicus in Alaska and Wisconsin, USA is described.

Paranoplocephala etholeni is morphologically most closely related to the Nearctic Paranoplocephala ondatrae (Rausch, 1948).Available data suggest that P.etholeni is a host-specific, locally rare species that may have a wide but sporadic geographical distribution in North Canine - Food - Canned America.

The finding of P.ondatrae-like cestodes in Microtus spp.suggests that this poorly known species may actually be a parasite of voles rather than muskrat (type host).

A tabular synopsis of all the known species of Paranoplocephala s.l.in the Holarctic region with their main morphological features is presented.