Family MUSTELICOLIDAE Dollfus, 1969
Introduction
The Mustelicolidae are characterised by the possession of two bothridia and multiple chainettes on the external surface of the tentacle (Campbell & Beveridge 1994). The family was erected by Dollfus (1969) for a single species, Mustelicola wooodsholei, described from a shark, Mustelus sp. from the eastern coast of the United States. Subsequently, Campbell & Beveridge (1987) described a second species from Mustelus antacticus from Tasmania. However, in a redescription of Diesingium lomentaceum from Mustelus mustelus from Europe, Beveridge & Campbell (1994) showed that Mustelicola a synonym of Diesingium. The family Mustelicolidae, nonetheless, remains a valid family.
Beveridge & Campbell (1989) described a new genus and species, Patellobothrium quinquecatinatum, from northern Australian waters. Subsequently, the species was shown to be a synonym of Bombycirhynchus sphaerenaicum described by Pintner (1930) from Sri Lanka. The nomenclature used in this family may, therefore, be potentially confusing. Currently, two genera and two species are recorded from Australian waters.
General References
Beveridge, I. & Campbell, R.A. 1989. Chimaerarhynchus n.g. and Patellobothrium n.g., two new genera of trypanorhynch cestodes with unique poeciloacanthous armatures, and a reorganisation of the poeciloacanthous trypanorhynch families. Systematic Parasitology 14: 209-225
Beveridge, I. & Campbell, R.A. 1994. Redescription of Diesingium lomentaceum (Diesing, 1850) (Cestoda: Trypanorhyncha). Systematic Parasitology 27: 149-157
Campbell, R.A. & Beveridge, I. 1987. Mustelicola antarcticus sp. nov. (Cestoda: Trypanorhyncha) from Australian elasmobranchs, and a reassessment of the family Mustelicolidae Dollfus, 1969. Transactions of the Royal Society of South Australia 112: 153-161
Campbell, R.A. & Beveridge, I. 1994. Order Trypanorhyncha Diesing, 1863. pp. 51-148 in Khalil, L.F., Jones, A. & Bray, R.A. (eds). Keys to the Cestode Parasites of Vertebrates. Wallingford, UK : Commonwealth Agriculture Bureaux International 751 pp.
Dollfus, R.-Ph. 1969. Quelques espèces de cestodes tétrarhynques de la côte Atlantique des Etats Unis, dont l'une n'était pas connue à l'état adulte. Journal of the Fisheries Research Board of Canada 26: 1037-1061
Pintner, T. 1930. Wennigbekanntes und Unbekanntes von Russel-bank Würmern. Sitzungsberichte der Akademie der Wissenschaften in Wien. Mathematisch-Naturwissenschaftliche Klasse 139: 445-537