During the study of the helminth parasites of birds from the Lucknow, specimens of an undescribed species of Wardianum (Family Cylcocoelidae Kossack, 1911) were collected from Eurasian Curlew, Numenius arquata Linn. The Genus Wardianum Witenberg, 1923 including the trematodes of air sacs of birds. Body of these parasites markedly tapered anteriorly, caeca without diverticules, testes juxtaposed inside caecal arch, ovary just pretesticular, median or submedian. Vitellaria directly lateral to caeca, not united posteriorly.

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Indian J. Helminth. (N.S.) 2011, 30, pp 13-19
ON WARDIANUM WITENBERGI N. SP. (DIGENEA:
CYCLOCOELIDAE) FROM NUMENIUS ARQUATA
LINN. (SCOLOPACIDAE), FROM THE LUCKNOW,
UTTAR PRADESH, INDIA
A.M. SAXENA*, SAMTA JOHRI2
AND RAHUL GUPTA1
*1
DEPARTMENT OF ZOOLOGY, UNIVERSITY OF LUCKNOW,
LUCKNOW-226 007, UTTAR PRADESH, INDIA
2
DEPARTMENT OF ZOOLOGY, MAHILA P.G. COLLEGE,
LUCKNOW, UTTAR PRADESH, INDIA
INTRODUCTION
During the study of the helminth parasites of birds from the
Lucknow, specimens of an undescribed species of Wardianum (Family
Cylcocoelidae Kossack, 1911) were collected from Eurasian Curlew,
Numenius arquata Linn. The Genus Wardianum Witenberg, 1923
including the trematodes of air sacs of birds. Body of these parasites
markedly tapered anteriorly, caeca without diverticules, testes
juxtaposed inside caecal arch, ovary just pretesticular, median or
submedian. Vitellaria directly lateral to caeca, not united posteriorly.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
Specimens of the present forms were collected live from the air
sac of Numenius arquata Linn., fixed under a slight pressure of
coverglass in AFA fixative (50% alcohol, formaline and acetic acid in

2. 14
a ratio of 100:6:2.5). The parasites were stained in aqueous Acetoalum
carmine, differentiated in acid water, dehydrated through ascending
series of ethanol, cleared in xylol and mounted in Canada balsam. The
diagrams were made with the aid of camera lucida. The description is
based on one ovigerous specimen; measurements are given in
millimeter (mm). For description help of Yamaguti (1958) was taken.
The voucher specimen submitted to the depository of the
Helminthological Society of India of Late Prof. S.P. Gupta, University
of Lucknow, India.
Family- Cyclocoelidae Kossack, 1911
Sub-family- Cyclocoelinae Stossich, 1902
Wardianum witenbergi n. sp.
(Fig. 1 & 2)
Host: Numenius arquata Linn. (Scolopasidae); Prevalence:
Two specimens were recovered live out of 1 of 2 birds examined;
Location: Air Sac; Locality: Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, India.
Body spatulate, rounded at posterior and 15.46 mm long, 3.15
mm wide. Mouth terminal, oral sucker absent. Prepharynx narrow,
tubular 0.20 mm long. Pharynx well developed, 0.25 mm long, 0.23
mm wide. Oesophagus 0.75 mm long, middle portion 0.50 mm wide.
Intestinal caeca simple, without diverticula and united posteriorly.

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Fig. 1: Wardianum witenbergi n. sp. Ventral view; Fig. 2: Eggs
Enlarged view

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Ventral sucker absent. Excretory system reticular, excretory
pore dorsoventral. Genital pore subterminal, close to hind end of
pharynx at 0.44 mm from anterior extremity.
Testes oblique close together, intercaecal and not separated
from each other by uterine coils. Anterior testis 0.70 mm long, 0.72
mm wide at 13.60 mm from anterior extremity. Posterior testis slightly
smaller than anterior testis, 0.67 mm long, 0.66 mm wide at 14.34 mm
from anterior extremity. Cirrus sac small not clearly visible.
Ovary pear shaped, pretesticular, 0.46 mm long, 0.41 mm wide
at 13.30 mm from anterior extremity. Receptaculum seminalis absent.
Vitellaria directly lateral to caeca not united posteriorly, partially
overlapping caeca, extending from bifurcation of caeca upto posterior
extremity. Uterine coils intercaecal. Extending between pharynx and
middle of anterior testis. Eggs operculated, oval, numerous, 0.129 to
0.150 mm long, 0.051 to 0.072 mm wide.
DISCUSSION
The present form is referred to the genus Wardianum
Witenberg, 1923. So far as genus Wardianum comprises seven known
species namely W. triangulare (Harrah, 1922) Witenberg, 1923 (Type
species); W. taxorchis (Johnston, 1917) Witenberg, 1923; W. wilsoni
Harrah, 1922; W. facioi Brenes and Arroyo, 1962; W. lateriovari
Oshmarin, 1963; W. chauhani Gupta and Gupta, 1979; W.
catoprophori Dronen, 2007 (Table-1).

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TABLE 1: CHECK-LIST OF SPECIES OF WARDIANUM
WITENBERG, 1923 (CYCLOCOELIDAE KOSSACK, 1911).
S.
No. Wardianum species Host and Locality
1. W. triangulare (Harrah,
1922) Witenberg, 1923
From air sac of Tringa maculata,
from U.S.A..
2. W. taxorchis (Johnston,
1917) Witenberg, 1923
From body cavity of bird Limosa
novae-hollandiae from Australia
3. W. wilsoni Harrah, 1922 From the intestine (?) of the
Wilson’s snipe, Gallinago wilsoni
Ord (=the American snipe,
Gallinago delicate), from the
U.S.A.
4. W. facioi Brenes and
Arroyo, 1962
From the air sacs of the northern
jacana, Jacana spinosa spinosa
(Linn.), from Costa Rica
5. W. lateriovari
Oshmarin, 1963
From the air sacs of Tringa
nebularia from Russia
6. W. chauhani Gupta and
Gupta, 1979
From the intestine (?) of the
common snipe from India.
7. W. catoprophori
Dronen 2007
From willets, Catoptrophorus
semipalmatus, from the
Galveston, Texas, area
8. W. witenbergi n. sp. From air sac of Numenius arquata
Linn. From Lucknow, Uttar
Pradesh.
The present form differs from W. triangulare and W. taxorchis
by having testes obliquely placed instead of symmetrical, by having

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ovary anterior to posterior testis and in the relative size of various
organs. It further differs from W. chauhani in the absence of
receptaculum seminis. The present form differs from W. lateriovari
Oshmarin, 1963 by having testes oblique, close together, ovary pear
shaped and pretesticular. The present form differs from W. facioi and
W. catoprophori by having uterine loops intercaecal. It further differs
from W. catoprophori by having pharynx longer than wide. The
present form differs from W. catoprophori by absence of oral sucker.
The new species differs from W. facioi by having a larger body size
(15.46 mm long by 3.15 mm wide compared with 6.6-7.5 mm long) a
larger ovary (0.41 mm wide compared with 0.26-0.267 mm).
Accordingly it is regarded as a new species with the specific name W.
witenbergi n. sp. The species is named in honour of Prof. G.G.
Witenberg.
REFERENCES
Brenes, R.B. and G. Arroyo. 1962. Helmintos de la Repu´blica de
Costa Rico XX. Algunos trema´todos de aves silvestres.
Revista de Biologı´a Tropical. 10: 205–227.
Dronen, N.O. 2007. Wardianum catoptrophori n. sp. (Digenea:
Cyclocoelidae: Haematotrephinae) from the
Willet, Catoptrophorus semipalmatus (Scolopacidae), from the
Galveston, Texas area of the Gulf of Mexico, U.S.A.
Comparative Parasitology. 74: 35-40.

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Gupta, P.C. and S.P. Gupta. 1979. Two new avian trematodes (Family
Cyclocoelidae Kossack 1911): Wardianum chauhani n. sp. and
Morishitium rauschi n. sp. from Kanpur. Indian Journal of
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Harrah, E.C. 1922. North American monostomes primarily from
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