the spiny butterfly ray Gymnura altavela (Elasmobranchii:

(Elasmobranchii, Myliobatiformes) caught off the Tunisian coast were examined for endoparasites during a three-year period (1995-1998). A phyllobothriid cestode new to science was found in the spiral intestine of all host specimens. The presence of a tetrabothridiate scolex, bothridia lacking an apical sucker, laciniate strobila, and possession of postvaginal testes are sufficient to place this species in the genus Anthobothrium Van Beneden, 1850. In this genus, we consider that only two species, both previously reported from carcharhiniform sharks, are valid: Anthobothrium cornucopia Van Beneden, 1850 and A. laciniatum Linton, 1890. Anthobothrium altavelae sp. n. can be distinguished from its congeners by its length, strobila morphology, and the number of testes. The taxonomic position of the species attributed to Anthobothrium parasitic in gymnurids is discussed. During the collection of elasmobranch parasites off the Tunisian coast, we recovered numerous specimens of a phyllobothriine species from Gymnura altavela (Linnaeus, 1758). These worms represent a new species of the genus Anthobothrium Van Beneden, 1850. As re-emphasised by Ruhnke (1994a) the systematics of the Phyllobothriinae have confounded cestodologists for