Volume 53, Issue 3

We describe and discuss species of Plasmodium with four nuclei arranged in doublets or forming a maltese cross and loose, residual cytoplasm, described from Passer hispaniolensis in Algeria. The following species are described: Plasmodium rouxi from Alauda arvensis, from France Plasmodium mohammedi sp. nov. from Passer domesticus biblicus and Plasmodium pachysomum sp. nov. from Anthus campestris, from Israel, Plasmodium pfefferi sp. nov. from Pica pica and Plasmodium sergentorum sp. nov. from Alauda arvensis and Pica pica from France and Plasmodium stellatum sp. nov. from Muscicapa striata from Israel. All species vary in the spatial position of their four nuclei and the presence or absence of refractile, blue-staining globules. All of the described species differ from P. vaughani Novy et Mac Neal, 1904 and its siblings (example: P. vaughani merulae Corradetti et Scanga, 1973) in their number of merozoites (always four versus four to eight in the latter) and their spatial arrangement in the schizont.

Sciadicleithrum guanduensis sp. nov. is described from the gills of the cichlid fish Geophagus brasiliensis (Quoy et Gaimard, 1824) from Guandu River, Seropédica, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The new species differs from all congeners by the accessory piece of the male copulatory organ, which comprises a small, delicate sheath with articulated appearance, and by the presence of a large unique umbelliform membrane on the ventral bar.

Gyrodactylus specimens infecting the skin and fins of two alpine bullhead (Cottus poecilopus) populations from the rivers Signaldalselva (North Norway) and Rena (South-East Norway) were characterized by both morphological and molecular means. Morphometrical differences were minor and the nucleotide sequences of the internal transcribed spacers (ITS) of the nuclear rDNA cluster were identical for parasites from both localities. Based on earlier descriptions, the relatively closest species are Gyrodactylus hrabei Ergens, 1957, described from common bullhead (Cottus gobio) in Slovakia and G. sp. Malmberg, 1973, from alpine bullhead in Sweden. The Norwegian Gyrodactylus specimens from the two alpine bullhead populations were morphometrically different from both the type material of G. hrabei from Slovakia and newly collected Gyrodactylus specimens from alpine bullhead in two Slovakian localities. The Slovakian Gyrodactylus specimens were found to be identical with type material of G. hrabei. The nucleotide sequences of the ITS of the Norwegian Gyrodactylus species were different from the Slovakian material. Hence, the Norwegian Gyrodactylus specimens from the alpine bullhead represent a new species, G. mariannae sp. nov.

Trimusculotrema heronensis sp. nov. is described from the skin of the pink whipray, Himantura fai, caught at Heron Island on the Great Barrier Reef, Queensland, Australia. The parasite differs from its closest relative, T. uarnaki, by its greater size and by features of the cirrus. There is evidence that the haptor of T. heronensis secretes cement. The living parasite is unable to swim. Whether Trimusculotrema spp. are benedeniines or entobdellines is discussed.

Lamellodiscus crampus sp. nov. (Monogenea, Diplectanidae) is described from the gills of Dentex maroccanus (Valenciennes) collected from the Gulf of Gabès (Tunisia) in the oriental part of Mediterranean Sea. The new species belongs to the “ignoratus” group (sensu Oliver 1987) characterized by a lamellodisc with complete lamellae and a “lyre” shaped male copulatory organ, and the “ignoratus” sensu stricto subgroup, characterized by a haptor with simple lateral dorsal bars, as proposed by Amine and Euzet (2005). Lamellodiscus crampus can be easily distinguished from all the congeneric species of the subgroup “ignoratus” by the presence, in the “lyre” male copulatory organ, of five spines in the distal portion on the axial side of the paired piece.

During the course of a study on the endohelminth parasites of birds, specimens of an undescribed species of Tylodelphys Diesing, 1850 (Diplostomidae) were collected from the wood stork, Mycteria americana L., from Formosa Province, Argentina. Tylodelphys brevis sp. nov. can be distinguished from the other Neotropical species of this genus, T. elongata, T. americana and T. adulta, principally by the smaller size of the body (570–851 μm), by the fewer eggs in the uterus (1–2) and by the smaller ratio of body to egg length (6–8). This is the second report of an adult of the genus Tylodelphys from Argentina and the first record of a digenean species parasitizing Mycteria americana in this country.

Skrjabinodon derooijae sp. nov. from the large intestine of Papuascincus stanleyanus (Scincidae) and Skrjabinodon sheai sp. nov. from the large intestine of Emoia pallidiceps (Scincidae) from Papua New Guinea are described and illustrated. Skrjabinodon derooijae sp. nov. and S. sheai sp. nov. represent the 27th and 28th species assigned to the genus and the 8th and 9th species from the Australo-Papuan Region. The new species differ from other species assigned to Skrjabinodon by egg and female tail morphology. The eggs of S. derooijae are spindleform with one truncate end and the female tail bears 13–16 tail spines in a defined pattern. The eggs of S. sheai are lagenoid and the female tail bears 12–16 tail spines in a random pattern. In addition to the new species, E. pallidiceps harboured Physalopteroides milnensis and P. stanleyanus harboured Mesocelium monas and Oswaldocruzia bakeri.

A West African species of gecko, Tarentola parvicarinata Joger (Gekkonidae), collected in the Niokolo Koba National Park in East Senegal is a new host species for the nematode Parapharyngodon echinatus (Rudolphi, 1819). Fifty one specimens of P. echinatus were studied under a light microscope and thirteen specimens were studied for the first time by a scanning electron microscope. The main differences between P. echinatus and other African species, especially Parapharyngodon micipsae (Seurat, 1917), were in the shape of annules on body cuticle, broad lateral alae and their terminations, the shape of the distal extremity of the spicule and number of outgrowths at the anterior cloacal lip. For the purposes of DNA characterization, partial sequence of the small subunit ribosomal RNA gene (SSU rRNA) was obtained from two specimens of P. echinatus. This is the first published sequence of a species from the family Pharyngodonidae.

Gamidactylus piranhus sp. nov. (Copepoda, Vaigamidae) from the nasal fossae of “San Francisco piranha”, Pygocentrus piraya (Cuvier, 1819) and.White piranha. Serrasalmus brandtii (Lütken, 1875) is described. The new species is similar to the type species of the genus, Gamidactylus jaraquensis Thatcher et Boeger, 1984, but differs from it in the following respects: the cephalothorax is shorter, the free thoracic segments are usually longer, leg 5 is reduced to a simple seta and a spine on the second antennal segment is lacking. Gamidactylus bryconis Varella, 1995 and Gamidactylus hoplius Varella et Malta, 1996, do not closely resemble the new species because they are much larger and both present leg 5 reduced to a double seta.

During June and July of 2007, a total of 130 specimens of the fish Rastrelliger kanagurta Cuvier (Teleostei, Scombridae), ranging between 19–31 cm in total length, were caught in the Red Sea off the coast of Sharm El-Sheikh, South Sinai, Egypt, and examined for infections by acanthocephalans (65 fish/month). Of this number, 29 (22.30%) were slightly or heavily parasitized by the acanthocephalan Diplosentis nudus (Harada, 1938) Pichelin et Cribb, 2001 (Cavisomidae); no other helminth parasites were found in the intestine of R. kanagurta. Twenty-nine infrapopulations of D. nudus, ranging from 23–218 individuals were collected from the infected fishes. These infrapopulations were distributed in a well-defined fundamental niche along the intestine of R. kanagurta, where the distribution of male worms was not random with respect to female worms size and position and suggests that the male-male competition for access to female may be intense and may select for large males. No correlation between fish size and infrapopulation size was observed. Correlations between female-to-male sex ratio and infrapopulation size, numbers of females and their mean lengths, numbers of males and their mean lengths, mean female length and mean male length within infrapopulation were very strong, and clearly suggest that as the infrapopulation size increased, the number of females and their mean lengths decreased and the number of males and their mean lengths increased. Combination of these results strongly suggests density-dependent effects and competition between male worms. The relationship between the mean female length or size and the number of eggs within its pseudocoel was strongly positive; egg production by female worm significantly decreases as the infrapopulation size increases, suggesting density-dependent reduction in female worm fecundity. Tendency for the variability in male testes size was not significant in infrapopulations of D. nudus. All of these results are discussed.

A total of 51 and 21 adults of Barbary ground squirrels (Atlantoxerus getulus) were trapped during May–July 2006 from the introduced populations on Fuerteventura Island (Canary Islands) and the native populations in Morocco, respectively. One trematode, 1 cestode and 4 nematode species were recovered belonging to five families: Brachylaima sp. (Brachylaimidae), Catenotaenia chabaudi (Catenotaeniidae), Protospirura muricola (Spiruridae), Dermatoxys getula and Syphacia pallaryi (Oxyuuridae), and Trichostrongylus sp. (Trichostrongylidae). We report for the first time the presence of P. muricola, Trichostrongylus sp. and Brachylaima sp. in A. getulus. Brachylaima sp. was found in the insular population only, as a result of a diet that includes snails. The two oxyurids were found at both sites. The continental population showed higher species richness (5 vs 3 species). This is the first report of helminth parasites from A. getulus from the Canary Islands.

The study analyses the intestinal helminth communities found in 645 red foxes of alpine populations from five areas of Northern Italy. In particular, the aim was to evaluate the contribution of both environmental variability and the structure of fox population (extrinsic and intrinsic factors, respectively) in shaping the structure and composition of the intestinal helminth communities. To identify the influence of the characteristics of the host (i.e. age and sex) together with extrinsic factors (year, site, season, and altitude of collection) on number of species, total load per fox, prevalence and abundance of each parasite species, general linear models were performed. Fifteen helminth species have been detected in the intestine of 545 infected animals (84.5%) with a total of 17,144 parasites collected. The analysis of factors influencing both prevalence and abundance of infection of the parasite species revealed the preponderance of extrinsic factors on intrinsic ones. In particular, geographical areas influenced prevalence and abundance of every parasite species, showing high spatial variability. The lower influence of host factors may suggest that, in this case, host dynamics play a trivial role with respect to spatial variability in determining parasite abundance. These results pointed out high prevalence of intestinal helminth infections in the Italian Alpine fox, confirmed the typical composition of parasite fauna within fox populations, underlined local differences in the structure and composition of the helminth communities. Moreover, this study highlights the major role of extrinsic factors vs intrinsic ones.

The teguments of four cestode species (Triaenophorus nodulosus, Proteocephalus torulosus, P. percae, P. cernuae) and the intestines of their freshwater fish hosts (Esox lucius, Barbatula barbatula, Perca fluviatilis, Gymnocephalus cernuus) inhabited by bacteria have been investigated with scanning electron microscopy. Most of the bacteria have sizes very similar to nanobacteria (that is, 0.25–0.3 μm in diameter). At least 4 microbial morphotypes were identified. These observations indicate that the normal indigenous microflora in cestodes and their fish hosts, associated with the digestive transport surfaces and consist of bacteria and nanobacteria.

To assess seroprevalence of Neospora spp. in asymptomatic horses in Ankara, Turkey, 19 mares and 56 stallions older than 2 years of age were examined using ELISA; 9.3% of the horses were seropositive. Seroprevalence of N. caninum in mares was twice of that in stallions (15.8 vs 7.1%) and all appeared to be asymptomatic.

Sera from 534 pet dogs and 335 pet cats from Beijing (China) were tested for anti-Toxoplasma gondii antibodies using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay or the latex agglutination test. The seropositivity by year, season, sex and age was analysed. Overall, 128 dogs (24.0%) and 50 cats (14.9%) had antibodies to T. gondii. When analysed by season, the highest seroprevalence was found in spring for dogs (31.3%) and cats (25.1%), and the differences in seroprevalence by season was statistically significant in cats (P<0.01) but not in dogs. The seroprevalence in male dogs (23.7%) and cats (15.1%) were slightly higher than their female counterparts (18.0% in dogs and 12.3% in cats). There was no obvious pattern of seropositivity or significant difference in different age groups in dogs or cats; nonetheless, a high proportion of dogs at 4 years of age were positive to T. gondii (31.8%) while cats with relatively high seropositivity rates were at 1 or 3.4 years of age (13.14%).