ON THE HELMINTHUM OF FRANCISCANA,
PONTOPORJA BLAJNVJLLEJNOBORU KAGEi
Division of Parasitology, The Institute of Public Health, TokyoTERUO TOBAYAMA AND YU NAGASAKI
Kamogawa Sea World, Chiba

ABSTRACT

Three helminthes, Anisakis typica (Diesing, 1860), Procamallanus sp. andCorynosoma cetaceum Johnston and Best, 1943, were isolated from a Franciscana, Pontoporia blainvillei (Gervais, 1842); collected at Punta del diabulo, Urguay. This is the new host-record against these helminthes.
INTRODUCTION

In January 1973, many materials were obtained from the stomach of a Franciscana, Pontoporia blainvillei (Gervais, 1842), collected at Punta del diabulo,
Urguay, for scientific studies. These materials consists of two species of nematodes and one of Acanthocephala and all mounted as microscopic preparationsin glycerinejelly, lactophenol or gum-chloral after the fixation in 70% ethyl
alcohol. Further details may now be added the description of the species.

Anisakis typica (Diesing, 1860)
Materials: Thirty-one worms obtained from the second stomach of Franc1scana.
The materials consisted of 2 larvae, 10 males and 19 females (Table 1).
The worms (Photograph 1) were whitish in color, in alcohol fixation.
TABLE 1.

COLLECTION RECORDS OF HELMINTHES IN THE STOMACH OF
FRANCISCAN A PONTOPORIA BLAINVILLEI (GERVAIS, 1842)

Species of Parasites

Sex

No. Vv orms recovered

Anisakis typica

LarvaeMale
Female10
19

Procamallanus sp.

Female2

2 nd stomach

Corynosoma cetaceum

Male
FemaleIll99

3rd and 4th
stomachSci. Rep. Whales Res. Inst.,
No. 28, 1976, 161-166.

Habitat2
2 nd stomach

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KAGEI, TOBA YAMA AND NAGASAKI

Description: Anisakinae, Nematoda. Three lips each bearing a bilobed
anterior projection which carries the single dentigerous ridges (arrow at Photograph 2); inter labia absent; lateral cervical alae absent; cervical papillae bear
the nerve-ring. Body attenuate more toward anterior than toward posterior
extremity, which ends conically. Cuticle with cuticular striations 19-59µ broad.
Excretory gland with duct opening between ventro-lateral lips; oesophagus composed of two portion; anterior muscular portion (M. at Photograph 3) and posterior ventriculus (V. at Photograph 3), the latter being oblong and somewhat
sigmoid or else as broad as long ; no ventricular appendix or intestinal caecum.
Male: 28.3 to 56.4 mm in length by 0.60 to 1.39 mm in breadth; anterior
muscular portion 2.28-3.62 mm in length at the body length 28.3-47.0 mm, ventriculus 0.90-1.50 mm in length ; tail (0.16-0.26 mm in length. Photograph 4)compressed dorso-ventrally with dorsal median rounded keel and with lateralalae. It is curved ventrally and bears numerous papillae; 10 pairs of postanal
papillae without doublepapilla, of which I, 2 and 3 are conical and near thetip; 4 to 10 shorter and near the cloaca; spicules unequal, the right spicules(R. of Photograph 5) measured 0.94 mm while the left (L. of Photograph 5)
measured 2.86 mm at the worm of body length 46.0 mm (ratio, I : 3.04).
Female: 21.7 to 90.8 mm in length by 0.56 to 2.00 mm in breadth; vulva
in 10.2-11.3 mm (46.3-47.0.%) from anterior extremity of body. Anterior muscular portion 1.98-3.52 mm; Ventriculus 0.56-1.20 mm at female of body length21.7-42.4 mm. Tail length 0.14-0.30 mm (Photograph 6).
Larva: 25.4 and 25.8 mm in length and 0.56 and 0.57 mm in breadth, withlength muscular region of esophagus of 1.96 and 2.02 mm, ventricular length of
0.84 and 0.83 mm (Photograph 8) and tail length of 0.08 and 0.12 mm (Photograph 9). The larvae had the characteristic boring tooth on their lip mass
(Photograph 7 and 10), and the one-shaped cuticular mucron on their tail end,
and their long ventriculi were connected with their intestines obliquly. Therefore, the authors consider that these larvae belong to the Type-I larva of
Anisakis described by Berland (1961).
Discussion: Examination of the material detailed above shows that thisspecies is characterized by the very marked unequality of the spicules (1 : 3).
This range is clearly distinct from that found for A. simplex (1 : 1.6).
The postanal papillae are also different from A. simplex (A. typica 10 pairs;
A. simplex 6 pairs with one double papilla).
It is interesting that Davey (1971) described that although A. simplex distributed on the wordwide, but more particularly in colder temperature andpolar water, A. typica found on warmer temperature and tropical waters between 40°N and 36°S.
A. typica were recorded only from cetaceans of the families Stenidae, Delphinidae and Phocaenidae. Accordingly, this host (Pontoporia blainvillei;
Platanistidae) is the new record against A. typica.

Sci. Rep. Whales Res. Inst.,
No. 28, 1976.

HELMINTHUM OF FRANCISCANA

163

Procamallanus sp.
Materials: Two females were obtained from the second stomach of aFranciscana.
Description: Camalanidae; Spiruroidea; Nematoda. The materials consisted one mature and one immature female (Table 1 and Photograph 11 ). The
worms whitish in collor, in alcohol fixation. Body slender; attenuated towards
both extremities. The materials are in length from 29.1 mm and 41.7 mm, andin breadth from 0.31 mm and 0.54 mm. The cuticule thick, and finely striatedtransversely. The anterior end without lip bears 6 papillae-2 lateral and 4
median. The brownish-yellow buccal capsule (Photograph 13) is broadly barrelshaped, and its anterior opening is hexagonal. It is in length 0.10 mm and 0.12mm, and in breadth 0.08 mm and 0.09 mm. The internal surface of the wallof buccal capsule is probided with ridge like thicknings, numbering 12-13, which
traverse it in a spiral fashion. The esophagus is divided into the two parts.
The anterior muscular portion is club-shaped and measured 0.65 mm and 0.66
mm in length by 0.12 and 0.14 mm in maximum width. The posterior glandular portion measures 0.95 mm and 1.05 mm in length, and unlike the muscularpart, has a uniform breadth. The intestine was conspicuous on account of its
being full of partly difested blood. The nerve ring encircles at narrowest pointof the muscular esophagus, 0.36 mm from the anterior end. Excretory pore
situated in the region of the nerve ring and a short distance from anterior tojunction of muscular :md glandular portion of esophagus.
Posterior extremity is bluntly rounded; it has length 0.12 mm. Numerous
conspicuous muscle strands extend across body cavity region of anus. Tail
(Photograph 12) terminates in a small conical tip, 0.05 mm long, at extremityof which are two extremely minute spinal projections, apparent only under thehigher magnification.
The vulva is situated on the middle of body (14.5 and 19.4 mm; 46.5 and49.8.% from the anterior part). Eggs were seen in the uteri, which contained
a larva.
Discilssion: Up to the present, 40 species of Procamallanus have beenrecorded, all of which, exception of the batrachian parasites, P. xenopodia andP. slomei, are intestinal parasites of marine and freshwater fishes, and 11 species
posses the spiral thicknings in the inner surface of the wall of buccal capsule,viz., P. spiral, P. amarali, P. hilarii, P. hanoslimai, P. fariasi, P. f ulvidraconi,P. wrightii, P. monotazis, P. murrayensis, P. pereirai and P. globoconchus.
Five species, P. amarali, P. hilarii, P. barroslimai, P. wrightii and P. feriasi,
in these species were reported from fishees from Brazil. However, they differs
our species in the following points.
The main points of difference are in the length of posterior glandural esophagus (P. soiral and P. hilarii) and in the tail of female. In our species thetail of the female appears to have a process with two spines; in other species
Sci. Rep. Whales Res. Inst.,
No. 28, l!J76.

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KAGEI, TOBAYAMA AND NAGASAKI

there are not spine.
The species resembles P. montaeis in some features, but differs in the formof the buccal capsule, which is more spherical.
The present species could not identified, because of not-finding the male.
I (N.K.) think that these dolphin is not the definitive host of these worms.

Corynosoma cetaceum Johnston and Best, 1943
Materials: Two hundred-ten worms obtained from the third and fourth
stomach of a Franciscana (Table 1). The materials consisted of 111 males and
99 females. The worms (Photograph 14 and 15; scale is mm.) were witish-yellow
in coll or, in alcohol fixation. They have been preserved in fixative for manydays. Observations were based on whole mount with gum-chloral.
Description: Corynosomatinae; Acanthocephala. In body from there isdistinct sexual dimorphism (Male: Photograph 14; Female: Photograph 15).
Anterior part of trunk bulbously swollen and spined, and in male tapered
towared posterior extremity which is about two-third to three-fifth of the bodylength (Photograph 16), with extro-atached bursa (0.93-l.40mm by l.OO-l.25mm.
Photograph 23) having the many sucker-like projections in the inner surfaceof the wall (Photograph 24) ; female more roundish than male, pouchlike, withsmall attenuated posterior extremity (Photograph 17). Male very in length from
7.15 mm to 9.25 mm, and in width from 2.35 mm to 2.80 mm. Female in lengthfrom 3.90 mm to 4.65 mm, and in width from 2.50 mm to 2.70 mm; maximum
width at level of anterior trunk.
Trunk spines (Photograph 20 and 21) of female extending almost entire
length of the body ventrally but dorsally reaching only the region of maximum
diameter; in males the spines extend along ventral surface to point only a shortdistance posterior to the hind margin the cement glands, much of hind-trunk
devoid of spines (Photograph 22). Trunk spines usually 22.8µ to 65.4µ longin males. Genital spines lacking in males.
Proboscis (Photograph 18) of both sexes arising from discoid swelling oftrunk and bent ventrally, cylindrical, 0.80-1.13 mm length; maximum width atlowere third of proboscis (0.30-0.40 mm).
Proboscis hooks, sickle-shape, arranged in 18-19 longitudinal rows with 1213 in each row, becoming grandually stouter (70.0-75.1µ) from apex toward
swallen region, than abruptly small. Hooks nearest to base of proboscis smallest
in size (30.6-35.8µ).
Proboscis receptacle double-walled, slightly longer than proboscis (1.55-1. 75
mm by 0.40-0.53 mm) (Photograph 19).
Lemnisci sqmewhat shorter than proboscis receptacle, leaf-shaped.
Testes elliptical, 0.93-1.40 mm by 1.00-1.25 mm, lying symmetrically tothe posterior region of the for-trunk, reaching anteriorly to the level of theposterior and of the proboscis receptacle.
Six cement glands, immediately posterior to testes, in two groups of theseSci. Rep. Whales Res. Inst.,
No. 28, 1976.

HELMINTHUM OF FRANCISCANA

165

each.
Egg fusiform with polar prolongations of middle shell; 154.8 (136.6-163.5) µlength and 46.1 (42.6-51.5) µ width (Photograph 25).
Discussion: Although Corynosoma had reported 22 species from marine
mammals, the present species, except for C. cetaceum, differs from these species
in size of the body, number of hooks at the proboscis and size of the eggs.
Morphorogical features and the measurements agreed well with the description of C. cetacum Johnston and Best, 1943 from Delphinus delphis and Tursiops truncatus. Accordingly, although Corynosoma sp. had been reported by
Dailey and Brownell (1972) from Franciscama, Pontoporia blainvillei, C. cetaceum
was first record from the precent host.
ACKNOWLEDG MENTS
We wish to express our hearty thanks to Dr. Masaharu Nishiwaki of the Ocean
Research Institute, University of Tokyo, as the leader of Japanese Scientific
Research Expedition against the Franciscana.
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Sci. Rep. Whales Res. Inst.,
No. 28, 1976.

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