NEW WORMS 
215 
Ward and Hirsch (1915) first emphasized the value of cuticular spines in species deter- 
mination and Vevers (1923) confirmed their findings. Ameel (1934) who presents some 
evidence to indicate that the cuticular spines of the adult may not be good criteria for 
differentiation of species of Paragonimus , nevertheless concludes as follows : “ For the present, 
in the absence of conclusive evidence either to support or contradict the work of Ward and 
Hirsch, it is believed advisable to recognise the species considered valid by them, namely, 
Paragonimus westermani, P. ringeri, and P. kellicotti. Likewise, P. compactus , recognised as a 
distinct species by Vevers, should be retained until it can be restudied. " Chen (1940) showed 
that the differentiation of spines of P. iloktsuenensis came very early during the growth period 
of the adult life and from the second month on only slight changes took place. He also showed 
that the shape and arrangement of spines on specimens obtained from various experimental 
animal hosts remained constant. These facts point to the value of cuticular spines in species 
determination. 
Miyazaki (1939) and Tang (1940) point out that more taxonomic characters may be found 
through the observation of the developmental larval stages of the parasite. Chen (1940) from 
an exhaustive comparative study of the various species of Paragonimus concludes that P. ringeri 
and P. edwardsi are synonyms of P. westermani. He recognises P. westermani , P. kellicotti , 
P. ohirai , P. compactus , and P. iloktsuenensis as distinct species. He maintains that characters 
such as the egg shell (irregular or regular in thickness), the cuticular spines of the adult, the 
number of walls (one or two) of the metacercaria, and host specificity should be regarded for 
the present as the most important differentiating features. 
The shape, form and arrangement of the cuticular spines in this species would serve to 
place it in the westermani-kellicotti group and not in the compactus-iloktsuenensis-ohirai group. 
The typical spines, however, are somewhat different from those of P. kellicotti in which the 
free edge is deeply serrated with a saw-toothed appearance. It differs from P. westermani , in 
which species the typical spines are narrow and long and the egg shell is irregular in thickness. 
The monkey is a new host for Paragonimus. For these reasons it seems desirable to regard 
it as a new species pending confirmation or otherwise by a more extensive study of the cuticular 
spines of Paragonimus species, and of life-history studies for morphology of larval forms, as 
well as experimental infection of laboratory animals to determine the degree of host-specificity. 
Family : Troglotrematidae Odhner, 1914 
Genus : Paragonimus Braun, 1899 
Species : P. macacae n. sp. 
Host : Macaca irus irus Cuvier 
Habitat : Lung 
Locality : Malaya 
References 
Ameel, D. J. (1934). Paragonimus , its life history and distribution in North America and its taxonomy 
(Trematoda: Troglotrematidae). Amer.J. Hyg., 19, 279-317. 
Chen, H. T. (1940). Morphological and developmental studies of Paragonimus iloktsuenensis with some 
remarks on other species of the genus (Trematoda: Troglotrematidae). Lingnan Sci. J ., 19, 429-530. 
Gulati, A. (1927). On the occurrence of a lung fluke Paragonimus edwardsi , n. sp., in a Palm Civet 
(Paradoxurus grayi) in Kumaon Hills. Mem. Dept. Agric. Ind. Vet., 3, 187-190. 
Miyazaki, I. (1939). Ein nenes Lungendistom Paragonimus ohirai n. sp. Fukuoka Acta med. 
32, 1247-1252. . , _ . 
Tang, C. C. (1940). A comparative study of two types of Paragonimus occurring in Fukien, South China. 
Chinese med. J., Supplement No. 3, 267-291. 
Vevers, G. M. (1928). Observations on the genus Paragonimus Braun with a re-description of P. compactus 
(Cobbold, 1859), 1899. J. Helminth., 1, 9-20. 
Ward, H. B. and Hirsch, E. F. (1915). The species of Paragonimus and differentiation. Ann. trop. 
Med. Parasit., 9, 109-162. 
Malaya, No. 26, 1953 
