Morphological variations in Onchocerca sp. from atypical hosts and sites: the validity of O. stilesi

Minor morphological variations occur in some specimens of Onchocerca gutturosa and O. lienalis developing in unusual anatomical sites in their normal hosts and in unusual Hosts. These variations may affect characters usually considered to be important diagnostic features. Variations in O. lienalis show a range which encompass the features used by Eberhard (1979) to distinguish a new species, O. stilesi. Further studies on fresh material are needed before O. stilesi can be accepted as a valid species.