Description of Madathamugadia hiepei n. sp (Nematoda : Splendidofilariinae), a parasite of a South African gecko, and its development in laboratory bred Phlebotomus dubosqi (Diptera : Psychodidae)

Madathamugadia hiepei n. sp., Splendidofilariinae, a parasite of a South Af rican gecko Pachydactylus turneri is described together with its developmen t obtained experimentally in Phlebotomus duboscqi (Diptera: Psychodidae: Ph lebotominae). This new species differs from the two small, more highly evol ved groups with a short tail and atrophied postcloacal papillae, the first group consisting of two Madagascan species, M. zonosauri and M. hopluri, pa rasites of the Gerrhosauridae and Iguanidae, and the second containing thre e species from the Ethiopian Region, M. huambensis, M. versterae and M. bis sani, parasites of the Scincidae. It also differs from M. ineichi, the most primitive species of the genus (cuticularised buccal capsule, no atrophy o f head papillae and largest number of precloacal papillae), a parasite of t he Cordylidae in South Africa. M. hiepei is close to the two species parasi tic in the Gekkonidae of the Mediterranean subregion, M. ivaschkini and M. wanjii, all three of which have a post-oesophageal vulva. However, the new species can be distinguished from the Mediterranean parasites by (a) the sh orter oesophagus, (b) the number and position of the cloacal papillae and ( c) the microfilaria. The three filariae of this group and M. ineichi, the o nly ones of which aspects of the life-cycles are known, experimentally deve lop in phlebotomine sand flies.