Redescription and systematic position of Soricinia tripartita Zarnowski, 1955 (Cestoda: Cyclophyllidea), a cestode species parasitic in shrews of the genus Sorex, including erection of Gulyaevilepis gen. n.

Soricinia tripartita Zarnowski, 1955 is redescribed on the basis of specimens from the type host Sorex araneus Linnaeus from Lithuania, Latvia and Russia (Republic of Karelia and Republic of Komi - a new geographical record) as well as from Sorex satunini Ognev and Sorex volnuchini Ognev from Russia (Nalchik Area in the Caucasus Mountains). The strobilar morphology of S. tripartita is compared with that of other hymenolepidid cestodes of shrews with an unarmed scolex and serial development of proglottides in the strobila, i.e. species of Mathevolepis Spassky, 1948, Ditestolepis Soltys, 1952, Spasskylepis Schaldybin, 1964, Ecrinolepis Spassky et Karpenko, 1983 and Diorchilepis Lykova, Gulyaev, Melnikova et Karpenko, 2006. It was noted that S. tripartita does not correspond to any of the known genera. The following unique characters are found for S. tripartita: heteronomous serial strobilation with one or two sterile proglottides at the end of each series in the strobila and the whole copulatory part of the vagina covered with numerous, fine spines. Therefore, the new genus Gulyaevilepis is erected, with Gulyaevilepis tripartita (Zarnowski, 1955) comb. n. as its type and only species. Since the type material of Soricinia tripartita is not known to exist, a neotype from the same host species and from a locality close to the type locality is designated.