Cestodes in Four Species of Euryhaline Stingrays from Colombia

Seven species of cestodes are reported from coastal stingrays in the vicinity of Cartagena, Colombia, Acanthobothrium colombianum sp,n. from Aetobatis narinari resembles A . paulum and A. mathiasi but differs by having relatively shorter, more squared proglottids at the end of the strobila, a pre-equatorial genital pore, relatively less elongate ovarian lobes in terminal proglottids, and less prominent apical suckers and pads. Acanthobothrium urotrygoni sp.n. from Urotrygon venezuelae most closely resembles A . olseni in bothridial hook length but differs in cirrus sac size, resembles A. southwelli in cirrus sac size but differs in bothridial hook length, and differs from the former two and resembles A. lineatum by having a long and spinose cephalic peduncle; the new species differs from A, lineatum by possessing smaller bothridial hooks and cirrus sacs, Acanthobothrium cartagenensis sp.n, from UrolophliS jamaicensis most closely resembles A. llrolophi but differs in bothridial hook length, length of cirrus sac, number of testes and proglottids, and position of genital pore, Rhinebothrium magniphallum infected the new hosts Urolophus jamaicensis, Urotrygon veneZllelae , and Dasyatis americana in the new locality of Cartagena, Colombia. Phyllobothrium cf. kingae occurred in Dasyatis americana and Urolophus jamaicensis. Polypocephalus medusius and Lecanicephalum peltatum infected the new host Dasyatis americana . Cartagena is a new locality for both cestode species, A host-parasite checklist for cestodes collected from 121 stingrays examined in Colombia during 1975 and 1976 is presented