A list of the helminth parasite specimens deposited in the Department of Zoology, the University Museum, the University of Tokyo
Takeshi Shimazu1) and Jun Araki2)
1)Nagano Prefectural College, 8-49-7 Miwa, Nagano, 380-8525 Japan
2)Meguro Parasitological Museum, 4-1-1 Shimomeguro, Meguro-ku, Tokyo, 153-0064 Japan
Introduction
A large number of old vials of helminth parasite specimens was found deposited in the collection of the Department of Zoology, the University Museum, the University of Tokyo. Many of the vials appeared to have once dried out and to have subsequently been refilled with a new preservative fluid. Some others were still in a dried condition. The collection did not include any whole-mounted or sectioned specimens. Shimazu et al. (1996) have already published a list of part of the vials found.
The vials with even a few pieces of data written on their label(s), even those containing no specimens, have been registered under new vial or specimen numbers and left in the collection. The remaining vials, with no data, have been thrown away together with any specimens they contained. The retained specimens contained have been transferred into new glycerin-alcohol (5 parts of glycerin plus 95 parts of 75% ethanol) in new vials. All the labels of the old vials retained have been filed in the museum archives.
The following is a list of the helminth parasite specimens left in the collection. They are classified into the class Monogenea, the subclasses Aspidogastrea and Digenea of the class Trematoda, the class Cestoda, the phylum Nematoda, and the phylum Acanthocephala. For each of these large taxa, arranged in the above order, the specimens are listed in alphabetical order, first according to their generic or common names and then according to their specific names. The data given on the label(s) of their old vials are cited as accurately as possible. Some of the labels were written in Japanese, and these are translated into English in quotation marks (“ ”). Some explanatory words are added in brackets ([ ]). The scientific name given originally is followed by the present-day one, if present, in the brackets. A plus sign (+) indicates the presence of illegible word(s) or letter(s). In the last parentheses (( )) for each parasite species, the original vial number, when present, is given, followed by the new vial number in brackets ([ ]). A minus sign (-) shows the absence of any original vial number. Some of the old vials contained no specimens, which is indicated by the words “No specimen.”
None of the specimens have been designated as any sort of type though some investigators, e.g. Seitaro Goto, Yoshimasa Ozaki, Kaoru Morishita, et al., deposited many of their type specimens in the collection of the Zoological Institute, Science Faculty, Tokyo Imperial University, or now the collection of the Department of Zoology, the University Museum, the University of Tokyo, (see also Shimazu et al., 1996).
The following specimens may be of taxonomic or medical importance: monogeneans, Diclidophora elongata [UMUTZ-HlmPrst-90], Hexacotyle acuta [UMUTZ-HlmPrst-49], Microcotyle caudata [UMUTZ-HlmPrst-70], M. caudata [UMUTZ-HlmPrst-72], M. fusiformis [UMUTZ-HlmPrst-68], M. sebastis [UMUTZ-HlmPrst-69, UMUTZ-HlmPrst-71], Tristomum coccineum [UMUTZ-HlmPrst-73], and T. laeve [UMUTZ-HlmPrst-74]; digeneans, Echinostoma gotoi [UMUTZ-HlmPrst-23], Echinochasmus elongatus [UMUTZ-HlmPrst-100, UMUTZ-HlmPrst-106], Metorchis taiwanensis [UMUTZ-HlmPrst-146], and Stamnosoma formosanum [UMUTZ-HlmPrst-102]; cestodes, Bothriocephalus variabilis [UMUTZ-HlmPrst-117], Diphyllobothrium latum [UMUTZ-HlmPrst-1], and Plerocercoides prolifer [UMUTZ-HlmPrst-156]; and nematodes, Hedruris ijimai [UMUTZ-HlmPrst-132], Mecistocirrus tagumai [UMUTZ-HlmPrst-124, UMUTZ-HlmPrst-133], and Spiroxys japonicus [UMUTZ-HlmPrst-55, UMUTZ-HlmPrst-138, UMUTZ-HlmPrst-141]. Kamegai and Araki (2000) have identified the specimen of the vial [UMUTZ-HlmPrst-1] as Diphyllobothrium nihonkaiense Yamane et al., 1986. The vials [UMUTZ-HlmPrst-49], [UMUTZ-HlmPrst-68], [UMUTZ-HlmPrst-72]-[UMUTZ-HlmPrst-74], [UMUTZ-HlmPrst-145], and [UMUTZ-HlmPrst-146] contained no specimens.
