Systematic Parasitology

The acanthocephalan Moniliformis saudi Amin, Heckmann, Mohammed, Evans, 2016 was originally described from the desert hedgehog, Paraechinus aethiopicus (Ehrenberg) in central Saudi Arabia. The distribution of P. aethiopicus extends to North Africa and west to Mauritania. Moniliformis saudi was recently found in the Algerian hedgehog Atelerix algirus (Lereboullet) in Malta. The distribution of A. algirus is restricted to the North African and east Iberian Mediterranean coast and associated islands. Both host species cohabit and share the same feeding grounds in northern Algeria where common infections appear to take place...

We describe a new kudoid species, Kudoa tanakai n. sp., in the scalpel sawfish, Prionurus scalprum (Actinopterygii: Acanthuriformes: Acanthuridae), from the natural water around western Japan. The plasmodia were filamentous, localized in pseudocysts in the myofibers of the trunk muscles. The occurrence of plasmodia in the trunk muscle showed no site preference. Its myxospores were spheroid, measuring 6.6-7.6 (7.0) µm by 5.8-6.9 (6.3) µm in apical view (width) and 5.7-6.6 (6.2) in length (n = 30), with four shell valves and a corresponding number of spheroid polar capsules...

Trematodes of the genus Mesocoelium Odhner, 1910 (Digenea: Plagiorchioidea: Mesocoeliidae) are globally distributed and parasitize amphibians, reptiles, or occasionally fishes. This genus is one of the most confusing taxa in trematodes because of its poor morphological features. In this study, we examined species of Mesocoelium collected from Japanese amphibians and found that they can be morphologically assigned to two species of Mesocoelium. Mesocoelium brevicaecum Ochi in Goto and Ozaki, 1929 parasitizes various both urodelan and anuran amphibians and occurred widely in Japan, while M...

West Indian manatees (Trichechus manatus) harbor a variety of endoparasites, including the nasal trematode Pulmonicola cochleotrema, which infects the respiratory tract, especially the nasal passages. Previous studies have described and identified this digenean using morphological data only. This study presents the first molecular identification of P. cochleotrema in West Indian manatees from Puerto Rico and Florida. Samples of the trematode were collected from seven manatees found stranded dead at both locations...

Members of the genus Microphallus Ward, 1901, are endoparasites mainly of birds and mammals distributed worldwide. Unencysted metacercariae of Microphallus sp., were collected from the mesoglea of ctenophores of the genus Pleurobrachia Fleming; adult digeneans were recovered from the intestines of Eudocimus albus Linnaeus (Threskiornithidae) and Buteogallus urubitinga Gmelin (Accipitridae), in four locations from southeastern Mexico. Adult specimens were identified as M. basodactylophallus (Bridgman, 1969) based on the following features: body pyriform entirely covered by minute spines, prepharynx short, oesophagus very long, caeca short and widely divergent, testes slightly symmetrical and excretory vesicle short and V-shaped...

We herein describe Proterometra wigglewomble n. sp. (Digenea: Azygiidae: Azygiinae) from the Cahaba River, Alabama, USA, which asexually reproduces in the compact elimia, Elimia showalteri (Lea, 1860) (Cerithioidea: Pleuroceridae) and matures in the oesophagus of the blackbanded darter, Percina nigrofasciata (Agassiz, 1854) (Perciformes: Percidae). Adults of the new species differ from congeners by having a small body and eggs having a wholly fimbriated surface that appears as a cilia-like brush border. Live naturally-shed cercariae of the new species differ from those of its congeners by having a strongly claviform tail stem bearing aspinose mammillae, a single furca, excretory pores that open on the posterior margin of the single furca, and few eggs in the cercarial distome...

The cyclopoid family Ergasilidae Burmeister, 1835, is the most common group of parasitic copepods infesting fish in Brazil, and the type-genus Ergasilus von Nordmann, 1832 comprises the highest number of species. During a survey of freshwater fish in Northeast Brazil, a new species of Ergasilus was found on the gills of the Longtail Knifefish Sternopygus macrurus (Bloch & Schneider) (Actinopterygii: Sternopygidae) in the Viana lake system, State of Maranhão. Ergasilus lyraephorus n. sp. can be distinguished from its closest congeners mainly because it has a lyre-shaped ornamentation on the ventral surface of first pedigerous somite, a feature that has never been reported in the family...

Peltocephalus dumerilianus (Schweigger) is a diurnal freshwater turtle widely distributed in the Orinoco and Amazon River basins in Brazil, Colombia, Peru, Ecuador, Venezuela, and French Guiana. During a helminthological survey of freshwater turtles from the Brazilian Amazon, numerous nematodes with characteristics of the genus Orientatractis Petter, 1966 were recovered from the stomach of Peltocephalus dumerilianus. These nematodes were different from all congeneric species, and we describe herein. Orientatractis bowseri n...

A new and two previously described species of Ameloblastella Kritsky, Mendoza-Franco & Scholz, 2000 were found in the gills of two pimelodid catfishes from the Tocantins River, Maranhão State, Brazil: Ameloblastella prima n. sp. from Pimelodina flavipinnis Steindachner, and A. edentensis Mendoza-Franco, Mendoza-Palmero & Scholz, 2016 and A. peruensis Mendoza-Franco, Mendoza-Palmero & Scholz, 2016 from Hypophthalmus marginatus Valenciennes. The new species differs from its congeners by having an accessory piece tubular, covered by a delicate membranous cap at 2/3 of the length, by the shape of the ventral and dorsal anchors, in which the ventral anchor is represented by a curved shaft in a position of 80° degrees, with delicate ornamentations located at the superficial and deep root areas, and the dorsal anchor with a long, well-developed and convex superficial root and short deep root, also presenting delicate ornamentations at the superficial and deep root areas...

To date, 23 species of trematodes have been reported in bats from Mexico. However, in some regions of Mexico, such as the Yucatan Peninsula, many species of bats do not have helminthological records. Here, we sampled bats in four localities in Southeastern Mexico from April 2017 to February 2022. Parasites were collected from the intestine of four species of bats: Pteronotus fulvus, Eumops nanus, Noctilio leporinus and Nyctinomops laticaudatus. Conventional morphological techniques and molecular tools with the 28S ribosomal gene were used to describe the helminths...

Pseudoplatystoma punctifer is a catfish species that occupies the first place in the statistics of fishing landings in the region of Loreto, being of economic importance in the Peruvian Amazonia. As an initiative to know the parasites present in the gills of P. punctifer from the Peruvian Amazonia, a study was carried out with fish collected in the Belén Market, in Loreto-Peru. Specimens were provided between June and October 2018 from local fishermen from the Belén Market, in Loreto-Peru and samples were processed and analyzed in the "Laboratorio de Parasitología y Sanidad Acuícola" from the "Instituto de Investigaciones de la Amazonía Peruana" (IIAP) in Iquitos, Loreto-Peru...

Neotropical primates (Platyrrhines) are commonly parasitized by pinworm nematodes of the genus Trypanoxyuris Vevers, 1923. The taxonomic identity of Trypanoxyuris sampled in night monkeys (Aotus Iliger) has been rather controversial. Two species have been described, namely T. microon (Linstow, 1907) and T. interlabiata (Sandosham, 1950). The latter was synonymized with T. microon considering that the observed morphological differences corresponded to different developmental stages of the nematode rather than to differences between both species...

Examinations of some deep-sea hydrothermal vent fishes from the western and eastern regions of the Pacific Ocean revealed the presence of three new species of Ascarophis van Beneden, 1871 (Nematoda: Cystidicolidae), all gastrointestinal parasites, namely: A. justinei n. sp. from Thermarces cerberus Rosenblatt & Cohen (type host) and Thermichthys hollisi Cohen, Rosemblatt & Moser (both Zoarcidae, Perciformes) and A. globuligera n. sp. from T. cerberus from the Northern East Pacific Rise, and A. monofilamentosa n...

Species of genus Polymorphus Lühe, 1911 (Polymorphidae) are acanthocephalans found in fish-eating birds and waterfowl. Although found in many parts of the world, including Australia, no records exist from New Zealand. Because of the largely aquatic intermediate host, Polymorphus species are rarely found in terrestrial birds of prey. During a study of the helminths of the Australasian harrier Circus approximans Peale specimens of Polymorphus were recovered that were found to be new to science. Polymorphus circi n...

Ixodes (Afrixodes) ambohitantelensis n. sp. (Acari: Ixodidae) is described based on females ex endemic shrew tenrecs (Afrosoricida: Tenrecidae) and an introduced rodent (Rodentia: Muridae) from Madagascar. Females of this new species are similar to those of other species of the subgenus Afrixodes Morel, 1966, known from Madagascar, from which they can be distinguished by the size of scutum, size of scutal setae, shape of alloscutal setae, development of genital apron, size of auriculae, size of anterior angle of basis capituli, size of palpi, dental formula on hypostome, development of syncoxae, and size and development of spurs on coxae I and IV...

Few studies have been carried out on the Ecuadorian chigger fauna. In this study, we are describing a new species of Eutrombicula from the Galápagos Islands. Also, we provide an updated checklist of Ecuadorian and Galápagos Islands chiggers, including a new host association and locality record for Eutrombicula nerudai Stekolnikov and González-Acuña.

A new species of marine-fish-parasitizing echinorhynchid palaeacanthocephalan, Echinorhynchus sasakiae sp. nov., is described based on material from the intestine of the rock greenling Hexagrammos lagocephalus (Pallas) obtained in two localities (Akkeshi and Nemuro) in Hokkaido, northern Japan. Echinorhynchus sasakiae sp. nov. can be distinguished from other congeners by having an oval-shaped proboscis covered with hooks arranged in 14-15 rows, each consisting of 7-10 hooks that are anteriorly short and curved, but posteriorly long and weakly curved...

During an investigation of Myxobolus diversity in the Chinese longsnout catfish Tachysurus dumerili (Bleeker), a new species infecting the intracranial epidermis of the host was discovered. Upon opening the cranial cavity, several round whitish plasmodia measuring 0.55-0.80 mm in diameter were observed. Fresh spores (n= 50) were pyriform in the frontal view and fusiform in the sutural view, with a length of 15.4±0.6 (13.9-16.5) μm, width of 9.1±0.4 (8.3-9.8) μm, and thickness of 7.0±0...

Based on the examination of diverse crustacean taxa collected along the Mexican Pacific and deposited in the Colección Nacional de Crustáceos of the Instituto de Biología, UNAM, six species of bopyrid isopods were detected. New hosts and localities are reported for Munidion pleuroncodis Markham, 1975, Probopyrus pacificensis Román-Contreras, 1993, Probopyrus markhami Román-Contreras, 1996, Progebiophilus bruscai Salazar-Vallejo & Leija-Tristán, 1990 and Schizobopyrina striata (Nierstrasz & Brender à Brandis, 1929)...

Parasitological assessment of marine fishes at Sodwana Bay in the iSimangaliso Marine Protected Area on the east coast of South Africa revealed a new species of cryptogonimid trematode infecting the pyloric caeca of the Dory Snapper, Lutjanus fulviflamma (Forsskål) (Lutjanidae). The new species is morphologically consistent with the concept of the large genus Siphoderina Manter, 1934; its phylogenetic position within this genus was validated through molecular sequencing of the ITS2 and partial 28S ribosomal DNA sub-regions...