026 



25. DAVAINEA CRASSULA (Rudolphl. 1819) Rallllet, 1893. 



(ISlit. "T. sphenoof^phala Rud.," ISIO of Riulolphi; 1819, T. 

 crassula Rud., 



(?17X9, Taenia seipentiformks i. T. turturis Gmelin; 7 1800, 

 A'lyselminthus Columbae Zeder; ? 1803, Halysis Colunxbae 

 (Zeder, 1800) Zeder; ? 1810, Taenia sphenocephala Rud.; ? 

 1891, Davainea Columbae (Zeder, 1800) R. Bl.) 



[PI. XVIII, figs. 243-246.1 



Diagnosis: 200mni to 400mm long by 4mm broad. Head oval, 

 rostellum obtuse, armed with about 60 hooks 10 fi to 11 f^ long. 

 Suckers rounded, armed with spines. Neck rather long. An- 

 terior segments very short, the following segments a little 

 longer and very wide, the posterior segments infundibuliform. 

 Gen.ita/1 pores unilateral. Elggs united in groups of 10-12 in 

 capsule. Development urknown. 



Hosts: Domestic pigeon. (Columba livia domestica); EuTOpean 

 rock pigeon (Coluim,ba livia); turtle dove (Turtur turtur); rock 

 partridge (Caccalbis saxitilis); ? tame duck (Anas boschas 

 dom.); parroquet (Psittacus erithacus) [perhaps D. leptosoma?]. 

 Epidemics: None recorded. 



Little more is known of tliis worm than the actual 

 fact that the parasites described under the synonymy 

 above are found in pigeons. 



Zeder (1800, pp. 281-282) found a worm in the turtle dove which 

 he named Alyselminthus columbae, changing the name three 

 years later to Halysis columbae. This worm Rudolphi (1810, pp. 

 94-95) renamed Taenia sphenocephala, so there is evidently no 

 doubt that these three terms are synonymous. Rudolphi in- 

 cludes in his literature a worm which Goeze (1782, p. 394) men- 

 tioned in a footnote as having been found in the turtle dove 

 and which Gmelin (1790, p. 3070) quoted from Goeze as Tenia 

 turturis under T. serpentiformis. It is entirely an assumption 

 that Goeze's form is identical with Zeder's worm, although 

 Gmelin's name refers to Goeze's species. Rudolphi (1819. pp. 

 154, 506-508) described as T. sphenocephala. evidently consider- 

 ing them identical with his sphenocephala of 1810, some worms 

 obtained by Bremser; these were preserved in the Berlin 

 Museum, were restudied by Krabbe and propounced identical 

 with Rudolphi's supposed new species (1819, pp. 702-704) Taenia 

 crassula, types of which Krabbe also examined. 



