Micropleura huchzermeyeri n. sp. (Camallanida: Dracunculoidea: Micropleuridae) from the Nile crocodile, Crocodylus niloticus Laurenti (Reptilia: Crocodylidae), in South Africa.

Micropleura huchzermeyeri n. sp. (Camallanida: Dracunculoidea: Micropleuridae) is described from the peritoneal cavity of Crocodylus niloticus Laurenti (Reptilia: Crocodylidae), based on a detailed study of its morphology using light and scanning electron microscopy. The new species is compared with its congeners, M. australiensis Moravec, Kay & Hobbs, 2004, M. vazi Travassos, 1933 and M. vivipara von Linstow, 1906 from crocodilians, and with M. indica Khera, 1951 from chelonian hosts. It can be distinguished from these by the length of its spicules, which are longer than in all described species and a combination of characters, including the presence of prominent lateral caudal papillae on the level of the cloaca in males, the presence of conspicuous phasmids on the female tail, the pre-equatorial position of the vulva and the length of the first-stage larvae. Micropleura huchzermeyeri n. sp. is further characterised by having 14 cephalic papillae in both sexes and ten pairs of caudal papillae in males. This is the first report of a representative of the genus Micropleura von Linstow, 1906 from a crocodilian in the Afrotropical region. Micropleura helicospicula Dey Sarkar, 2003 is considered a species incertae sedis.