Anindobothrium n. gen. (Eucestoda : Tetraphyllidea) inhabiting marine and freshwater potamotrygonid stingrays

Anindobothrium n. gen. is proposed to accommodate Caulobothrium anacolum in habiting Himanturu schmardae from Colombia, and 2 new species, one inhabiti ng Potamotrygon orbigny in Brazil and the other inhabiting Paratrygon aerei ba in Venezuela. Members of the new genus resemble members of Pararhineboth roides, Rhinebothroides, and Anthocephalum by having bothridia with poorly differentiated apical suckers and vasa deferentia expanded into external se minal vesicles. It further resembles Pararhinebothroides, Rhinebothroides, and Anthocephalum cairae by having vas deferens inserted near the poral rat her than aporal end of the cirrus sac. The 3 species assigned to the new ge nus form an apparent monophyletic group, based on the possession of 3 putat ive synapomorphies: (1) genital pores in the anterior 1/4 of the proglottid , a trait that is unusual, but not unique, among phyllobothriids; (2) anter oventral ovarian lobes converging to the center of the proglottid, a charac ter not previously reported for phyllobothriids; and (3) ovarian lobes comp rising a loose network of digitiform processes.