Summary
The three previously described Kiricephalus spp. are considered distinct because of differences in the number of abdominal annuli and differences in geographical and host distribution. Observations of a large number of specimens have confirmed the validity, and considerably extended the host list, of the two most common species, K. pattoni (Stephens, 1908), Sambon, 1922 and K. coarctatus (Diesing, 1850), Sambon, 1910. Generally annulus number is a satisfactory and reliable criterion upon which to separate species and three new species are described. One, K. constrictor, has an overlapping geographical distribution and annulus count with K. coarctatus, but comparative hook data reveals that they are unrelated. The life-cycles of the genus, reappraised in the light of the present findings, are shown to involve three vertebrate hosts. Eggs are only infective to amphibians, saurians or mammals, and snakes are second intermediate and definitive hosts, the final infection being acquired through ophiophagy. ac]19790725
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Riley, J., Self, J.T. On the systematics and life-cycle of the pentastomid genus Kiricephalus Sambon, 1922 with descriptions of three new species. Syst Parasitol 1, 127–140 (1980). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00009859
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00009859