Trichostrongylina (Nematoda) from Malagasy Muridae. III--description of a new species of Heligmonoides Baylis, 1928 (Heligmonellidae) parasitic in Mus musculus.

ABSTRACT

Heligmonoides variabilis n. sp. (Heligmosomoidea, Nippostrongylinae) a parasite of Mus musculus from Madagascar is related to H. afghanus (Tenora, 1969), H. ikeharai Hasegawa, 1990 and H. josephi (Wertheim & Durette-Desset, 1976), all having the dorsal ray divided anterior to the arising of rays 8. H. ikeharai a parasite of Tokudaia muenninki (Muridae) from Japan is the most closely related species with rays 8 arising at mid-length along the dorsal ray. It is differentiated from the new species by very long spicules (almost half of body length) and by the length of the vestibule (almost one millimeter). A new definition of the genus Heligmonoides Baylis, 1928 is proposed with a dichotomic key of the species. The biogeographic distribution and the host spectrum of the genus are described.