A FEW UNUSUAL HELMINTHS OF SOME DOMESTIC
                               ANIMALS IN INDIA*

                                             BY

G. D. BHALERAO, D. Sc., PH. D. (LOND.,) F. Z. S., F. R. M. S., F. A. Sc.

      Helminthologist, Imperial Veterinary Research Institute, Mukteswar

                    (Received for publication on 27th May 1939)

IN spite of sustained efforts for the last ten years on the part of several
workers in this country, the helminth fauna of the domestic animals in India
has not yet been completely explored. The truth of this statement can well
be appreciated by a glance at the number of new species described and new
records of helminths made from time to time by the helminthologists in India.
The present communication gives details of the study of three helminths
recorded for the first time in India with additional data concerning a species
previously described.

Mesocestoides litteratus—More than 24 species of the genus Mesocestoides
have so far been recorded from various animals ; of these, only six
have been determined in domesticated animals. In his critical analysis
of the genus Mesocestoides, Witenberg [1934] reduced the number of species
assigned to this genus to only three valid species, i.e. M. lineatus with the
forma Caesta, lineatus and litterata, M. perlatus and M. charadrii. This scheme
of Witenberg has not, however, been accepted by subsequent workers. Joyeux
and Baer [1935] consider that the species M. ambigus, which Witenberg
regards as a synonym of M. lineatus, is a species quite distinct from the
latter. The joint authors have adduced strong anatomical evidence in
favour of their view. Neveu-Lemaire [1936] also does not appear to be in
agreement with Witenberg since some of the species regarded as synonyms by
the latter are considered valid by the former. Only three species of Mesoces-
toides have been recorded from India, viz. M. lineatus, M. tenuis and M.
mesorchis. The first two have been recorded from a tiger and a dog, and the
third one from a Tibetan fox. Although Witenberg regards M. mesorchis
as a synonym of M. lineatum forma litterata and M. tenuis as a synonym of
M. charadrii, the writer is not inclined to support this view particularly after
the evidence advanced by Joyeux and Baer. A survey of the cestodes of cats
at Mukteswar revealed that in addition to the common tapeworms, viz. Taenia
taeniformis and Dipylidium caninum, one cat harboured in its intestine a small

*Paper read before the Medical and Veterinary Section of the 26th Indian Science
Congress, Lahore.

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