Contribution to the taxonomy of the family Campulidae Odhner, 1926 (Digenea) by means of a morphometric multivariate analysis

1996

Digeneans of the family Campulidae occur exclusively in marine mammals, particularly in cetaceans. Their taxonomy is confused, being based on adult morphology only. We used a multivariate discriminant analysis of morphometric data to provide new evidence on the taxonomy of the Campulidae. Measurements of 217 specimens from 21 species of all seven genera of the family were taken. The percentage of specimens correctly assigned into their own species was 96.3%. The first three discriminant functions accounted for most of the variation between the species, which were grouped together in suprageneric groups along the first and the second function. The ordination pattern observed conforms partly …