A new species of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Petasiger</Emphasis> (Digenea,Echinostomatidae) parasitizing <Emphasis Type="Italic">Podiceps major</Emphasis> and <Emphasis Type="Italic">Rollandia rolland</Emphasis> (Aves,Podicipedidae) from Buenos Aires Province,Argentina

Petasiger argentinensis sp. nov. is described from material found in the intestine of the Great Grebe, Podiceps major (Boddaert) and the White-tufted Grebe, Rollandia rolland Quoy et Gaimard (Podicipediformes, Podicipedidae), from Argentina. The new species is characterized by the head collar armed with 19 spines and by the testes arranged in tandem. These characters are shared with only two Neotropical species of the genus, P. novemdecim Lutz, 1928 and P. combesi Zamparo, Overstreet et Brooks, 2005. Petasiger novemdecim differs from the new species in having a larger body, longer collar spines, larger eggs, a cirrus-sac of similar size to the ventral sucker and almost entirely anterior to it, and vitelline fields confluent ventrally posterior to the ventral sucker. P. combesi differs from the new species in most metrical characters, the shape of the body (antero-posteriorly elongate) and the location of the genital pore (dextral) and the excretory pore (dorsal). This is the first record of a member of the genus Petasiger parasitizing birds from Argentina.     

<Emphasis Type="Italic">Macroderoides texanus</Emphasis> n. sp. (Digenea: Macroderoididae) from alligator gar, <Emphasis Type="Italic">Atractosteus spatula</Emphasis> in Texas

Macroderoides texanus n. sp. is described based on 16 specimens collected from the intestine of the North American alligator gar, Atractosteus spatula. Of the five established species of Macroderoides, the new species is morphologically most similar to Macroderoides spiniferus and Macroderoides trilobatus. M. texanus n. sp. differs from M. spiniferus by having the ovary situated immediately posterior to the cirrus sac rather than at mid-way between the cirrus sac and anterior testis, the ventral sucker situated further posteriorly, and the vitelline fields extending somewhat posterior to posterior testis rather than to the middle of posterior testis. M. texanus n. sp. differs from M. trilobatus by having the ovary positioned immediately adjacent to, or overlapping the cirrus sac rather than at some distance posterior to it, and by having significantly larger eggs. Additionally, the new species has two distinctive rows of spines on the postero-ventral surface of the oral sucker that are lacking in M. spiniferus and M. trilobatus. Comparison of approximately 2,700-base-pair sequences of nuclear rDNA (partial 18S, complete ITS region and partial 28S) from M. texanus n. sp., M. spiniferus and M. trilobatus, strongly supports the status of M. texanus n. sp. as a new species.     

<Emphasis Type="Italic">Choanocotyle platti</Emphasis> sp. nov. from the northern long-necked turtle, <Emphasis Type="Italic">Chelodina rugosa</Emphasis> (Pleurodira,Chelidae) in Australia

Choanocotyle platti sp. nov. (Digenea, Choanocotylidae) is described from the northern long-necked turtle, Chelodina rugosa (Pleurodira, Chelidae) from the Daly and Mary Rivers, Northern Territory, Australia. This is the fifth known member of Choanocotyle. Choanocotyle platti sp. nov. differs from Choanocotyle nematoides Jue Sue et Platt, 1998 and Choanocotyle hobbsi Platt et Tkach, 2003 by smaller body length, larger oral sucker, relatively greater distance between tests, and prepharynx with an infolded posterior region. In addition the new species does not have the looped cirrus sac characteristic of Choanocotyle nematoides. Comparison of sequences of 18S, ITS (ITS1, 5.8S, ITS2) and partial 28S regions of nuclear rDNA among all 3 species strongly supports the status of Choanocotyle platti sp. nov. as a new species.     

<Emphasis Type="Italic">Soboliphyme occidentalis</Emphasis> sp. nov. (Nematoda,Soboliphymidae) from the Iberian mole<Emphasis Type="Italic"> Talpa occidentalis</Emphasis> (Insectivora,Talpidae) in Spain

A new species of Soboliphyme from the endemic Iberian mole (Talpa occidentalis) is described. Soboliphyme occidentalis sp. nov. can be readily distinguished from all of its congeners primarily by the position of the vulva, which clearly shows a posterior oesophageal location, and the number of male caudal papillae. S. occidentalis sp. nov. is the only species that has four pairs of caudal papillae. S. abei, S. caucasica and S. jamesoni can be distinguished from S. occidentalis sp. nov. by not having a notched sucker, the anterior position of the vulva and two polar plugs in the eggs. S. jamesoni has an armate oral sucker and longer spicule; S. caucasica a longer spicule and shorter eggs, and S. abei has shorter eggs, which separate these species from S. occidentalis sp. nov. In the rest of the species with a notched oral sucker, S. baturini and S. hirudiniformis are differentiated from S. occidentalis sp. nov. by the anterior position of the vulva, two polar plugs in the egg and the spicule length in S. baturini and S. hirudiniformis and the size of eggs in S. baturini and S. hirudiniformis. S. ataahai, S. soricis and S. urotrichi have the vulva at the oesophago-intestinal junction, 9–10 male caudal papillae (S. ataahai and S. urotrichi), absence of male caudal papillae (S. soricis), armate oral sucker and long spicule in S. ataahai and one row of six circumoral spines in S. urotrichi. A key to the species of Soboliphyme is presented.     

Description of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Neolepidapedoides subantarcticus</Emphasis> sp. nov. (Digenea,Lepocreadiidae) from sub-Antarctic notothenioid fishes

Neolepidapedoides subantarcticus sp. nov. (Digenea, Lepocreadiidae) is reported from the intestine, mainly the jejunum, of fishes in the eastern mouth of the Beagle Channel and in the harbour of Ushuaia in the Beagle Channel (Tierra del Fuego, Argentina) at a depth 7–30 m. The typical host is Patagonotothen longipes, other hosts are P. tessellata, P. brevicauda and Champsocephalus esox. The male terminal genitalia indicates that the new species belongs to the genus Neolepidapedoides (Lepocreadiidae, Lepocreadiinae). The most important taxonomic features are the presence of eye-spots, the spined tegument, the “Opechona-type” cirrus-sac, the external seminal vesicle free in the parenchyma, the gonads arranged in tandem, the vitelline follicles extending from the level of the oesophagus in the forebody to the posterior end of the body and an I-shaped excretory vesicle reaching to the intestinal bifurcation and the absence of a pseudoesophagus. Ten previously described species differ from the N. subantarcticus sp. nov. mainly in the extent of the vitelline fields and length of the excretory vesicle which reaches into forebody.     

Polymerase chain reaction-based identification of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Plasmodium</Emphasis> (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Huffia</Emphasis>) <Emphasis Type="Italic">elongatum</Emphasis>, with remarks on species identity of haemosporidian lineages deposited in GenBank

Numerous lineages of avian malaria parasites of the genus Plasmodium have been deposited in GenBank. However, only 11 morphospecies of Plasmodium have been linked to these lineages. Such linking is important because it provides opportunities to combine the existing knowledge of traditional parasitology with novel genetic information of these parasites obtained by molecular techniques. This study linked one mitochondrial cytochrome b (cyt b) gene lineage with morphospecies Plasmodium (Huffia) elongatum, a cosmopolitan avian malaria parasite which causes lethal disease in some birds. One species of Plasmodium (mitochondrial cyt b gene lineage P-GRW6) was isolated from naturally infected adult great reed warblers (Acrocephalus arundinaceus) and inoculated to one naive juvenile individual of the same host species. Heavy parasitaemia developed in the subinoculated bird, which enabled identification of the morphospecies and deposition of its voucher specimens. The parasite of this lineage belongs to P. elongatum. Illustrations of blood stages of this parasite are given. Other lineages closely related to P. elongatum were identified. The validity of the subgenus Huffia is supported by phylogenetic analysis. Mitochondrial cyt b gene lineages, with GenBank accession nos. AF069611 and AY733088, belong to Plasmodium cathemerium and P. elongatum, respectively; these lineages have been formerly attributed to P. elongatum and P. relictum, respectively. Some other incorrect species identifications of avian haematozoa in GenBank have been identified. We propose a strategy to minimise the number of such mistakes in GenBank in the future.     

Description of three new species of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Gyrodactylus</Emphasis> von Nordmann, 1832 (Monogenea) parasitising <Emphasis Type="Italic">Oreochromis niloticus niloticus</Emphasis> (L.) and <Emphasis Type="Italic">O. mossambicus</Emphasis> (Peters) (Cichlidae)

Three new species of Gyrodactylus are described from two species of Oreochromis (Cichlidae): Gyrodactylus hildae sp. nov. from the Nile tilapia, Oreochromis niloticus niloticus, and from an unconfirmed cichlid in Ethiopia; Gyrodactylus ulinganisus sp. nov. from a South African population of Mozambique tilapia, Oreochromis mossambicus; and, Gyrodactylus yacatli sp. nov. from O. n. niloticus reared in Mexico. The hamuli and marginal hooks of G. hildae sp. nov. and G. yacatli sp. nov. differ notably from G. cichlidarum, a species commonly found on O. n. niloticus. The hooks of G. ulinganisus sp. nov., however, are morphologically similar to those of G. cichlidarum, but the two species were found to differ by 42 nucleotide substitutions (24 within the 342 bp long ITS1; 18 within the 303 bp long ITS2) and by 1 insertion/deletion. This study confirms that Nile and Mozambique tilapia harbour a number of different species of Gyrodactylus, with G. cichlidarum being the most frequently encountered and being associated with mortalities of juvenile O. n. niloticus. This study discusses the host specificity of gyrodactylids on commercial cichlid species and the potential repercussions of their movement on stocks of fish into new environments where cichlids are already present.     

Observations on two nematode species parasitizing freshwater fishes in Thailand,including <Emphasis Type="Italic">Spinitectus thaiensis</Emphasis> sp. nov. (Cystidicolidae) from <Emphasis Type="Italic">Pseudomystus siamensis</Emphasis> (Bagridae)

One new and one already known species of parasitic nematodes are described from the intestine of freshwater fishes in Chiang Mai Province, northern Thailand: Spinitectus thaiensis sp. nov. (Cystidicolidae) from the catfish Pseudomystus siamensis (Regan) (Bagridae, Siluriformes) in the Fang Brook, a tributary of the Kok River (the Mekong River basin), Fang District and Oceanicucullanus chitwoodae Le-Van-Hoa et Pham-Ngoc-Khue, 1971 (Cucullanidae) from the cyprinid Mystacoleucus marginatus (Valenciennes) (Cyprinidae, Cypriniformes) in the Ping River (the Chao Phraya River basin), Muang District. The new species, S. thaiensis, is very similar to S. petrowi Belous, 1965, differing from it, in addition to some biometrical differences, mainly in having simple cuticular spines (instead of transversely oriented peg-like spines with rounded ends) on the ventral surface of the female tail; the spicules are 156–171 and 66–72 μm long, the vulva is situated at 74% of female body length, and the entire oesophagus including the vestibule represents 14–15% of body length in the male and 12% in the female. The latter species, O. chitwoodae, was studied for the first time by scanning electron microscopy, which enabled to recognize some previously unrecorded morphological details in this species. The finding of O. chitwoodae in M. marginatus in Thailand represents new host and geographical records for this nematode.     

<Emphasis Type="Italic">Alloglossidium fonti</Emphasis> sp. nov. (Digenea,Macroderoididae) from black bullheads in Minnesota with molecular differentiation from congeners and resurrection of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Alloglossidium kenti</Emphasis>

Alloglossidium fonti sp. nov. is described based on specimens from black bullheads (Ameiurus melas) collected from several localities in northwestern Minnesota. The new species is morphologically closest to A. corti and A. geminum. These two species were also found in the same region as A. fonti sp. nov. and sometimes in the same individual fish. Examination of numerous genetically marked specimens has demonstrated that the most reliable distinguishing feature among the three species is the position of anterior margin of the vitelline fields. In the new species they are situated at the level of anterior margin of ventral sucker while in A. corti it is at the level of intestinal bifurcation or even further anteriorly, and in A. geminum it is at the level of posterior margin of ventral sucker or further posteriorly. The new species has a relatively smaller cirrus sac than A. geminum. Despite rather minor, albeit stable morphological differences, the molecular data strongly supported the status of A. fonti sp. nov. as a new species. Moreover, molecular data and morphological examination of new material suggested that A. kenti, earlier synonymized with A. corti, is a valid species that is resurrected here. Comparison of 2420 base long sequences of nuclear rDNA (partial 18S, complete ITS region, and partial 28S) obtained from multiple specimens of all 4 species collected in Minnesota, North Dakota, Nebraska and Mississippi, showed essentially no intraspecific variability (except for 1 base difference in the ITS2 region of A. fonti sp. nov.), but has demonstrated pronounced interspecific differences. The new species was not found in the four examined catfish species from the Red River of the North (on the border between North Dakota and Minnesota) and neighbouring North Dakota.     

Two new <Emphasis Type="Italic">Isospora</Emphasis> species from the saffron finch, <Emphasis Type="Italic">Sicalis flaveola</Emphasis> in Brazil

Two new coccidian species (Protozoa, Apicomplexa, Eimeriidae) are reported from the saffron finch Sicalis flaveola Linnaeus, 1766, a very common species in South America. Isospora cetasiensis sp. nov. oocysts are subspherical to ellipsoidal, 23.1 × 21.6 μm, with smooth, bilayered wall, ∼1.0 μm. Micropyle, oocyst residuum and polar granule are absent. Sporocysts are ovoidal, 15.1 × 10.9 μm. Stieda body is knob-like and substieda body is rounded. Sporocyst residuum is composed of many scattered granules and spherules of different sizes. Sporozoites are vermiform with one refractile body and a nucleus. Isospora sicalisi sp. nov. oocysts are subspherical to ellipsoidal, 27.5 × 25.2 μm, with a smooth, bilayered wall, ∼1.1 μm. Micropyle, oocyst residuum and polar granule are absent. Sporocysts are ellipsoidal, 17.2 × 11.7 μm. Stieda body is knob-like and substieda body is trapezoidal. Sporocyst residuum is composed of scattered granules and spherules of different sizes. Sporozoites are vermiform with one refractile body and a nucleus.     

<Emphasis Type="Italic">Dinurus ivanosi</Emphasis> sp. nov. (Digenea: Hemiuridae) from the stomach of dolphin fish,<Emphasis Type="Italic"> Coryphaena hippurus</Emphasis>, caught off the Kerala Coast,India

A new species of stomach fluke, Dinurus ivanosi (sp. nov.), was recovered from the dolphin fish, Coryphaena hippurus, off the Kerala Coast, India. It is similar to other Dinurus species in the plicated prosoma, trilobed seminal vesicle and seven vitellaria, but differs from them in the length of the pharynx, unequal lobes of the seminal vesicle and unequal size of the testes. The most important diagnostic features of the new species are the general shape and proportions of the body, the position of the oral sucker, elongated pharynx, small distal lobe of the seminal vesicle, and larger anterior testis, smaller egg size, short and slender vitellaria and the limited extent of the vitelline field.     

<Emphasis Type="Italic">Isospora mionectesi</Emphasis> sp. nov. (Apicomplexa,Eimeriidae) from the grey-hooded flycatcher, <Emphasis Type="Italic">Mionectes rufiventris</Emphasis> in Brazil

A new isosporoid coccidian (Apicomplexa, Eimeriidae) species from the grey-hooded flycatcher, Mionectes rufiventris, from Brazil, is reported in the current study. Isospora mionectesi sp. nov. oocysts are ellipsoidal, 28.3 × 21.2 μm, with smooth, bilayered wall, ∼1.3 μm. Micropyle and oocyst residuum are absent, but one or two polar granules are present. Sporocysts are elongate ellipsoidal, 19.7 × 11.7 μm. Stieda body rounded and substieda body prominent. Sporocyst residuum is subspherical and compact. Sporozoites are vermiform with one refractile body and a nucleus.     

<Emphasis Type="Italic">Mexiconema africanum</Emphasis> sp. n. (Nematoda: Daniconematidae) from the catfish <Emphasis Type="Italic">Auchenoglanis occidentalis</Emphasis> from Lake Turkana,Kenya

A new species of dracunculoid nematode, Mexiconema africanum sp. n. (Daniconematidae), is described from the abdominal cavity and the intestine (rarely also the gall bladder) of the catfish Auchenoglanis occidentalis (Valenciennes) (Claroteidae, Siluriformes) from Lake Turkana, Kenya. The new species differs from two other congeners mainly in the absence of two large cell nuclei in the glandular oesophagus, presence of well-developed lateral cephalic elevations, more numerous (14) cephalic papillae and a much longer body of the gravid female (18–22 mm); from Mexiconema cichlasomae Moravec, Vidal and Salgado Maldonado, 1992 also in less numerous (two) caudal processes and a different arrangement of genital papillae in the male. M. africanum is the first representative of the dracunculoid family Daniconematidae described from Africa.     

A new trematode species parasitizing the catfish <Emphasis Type="Italic">Hoplosternum littorale</Emphasis> (Osteichthyes,Callichthyidae) from Paraná River,Brazil, with an emendation of the diagnosis of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Magnivitellinum</Emphasis> (Trematoda,Macroderoididae)

Magnivitellinum corvitellinum sp. nov. is a parasite from the intestine of tamboatá Hoplosternum littorale, a freshwater catfish from Paraná River, Brazil. This species has an elongate body, a small cirrus-sac, testes in the posterior half of the body and well-developed follicular vitellines. It differs from the only other species in the genus, M. simplex, in having tegumental spines along the body, ventral sucker distinctly bigger than oral sucker, oesophagus absent and vitellaria extending from posterior margin of ventral sucker to near posterior extremity of body. An emendation of the generic diagnosis is proposed in view of the presence of tegumental spines along the body, absence of oesophagus, relative size of ventral and oral suckers and uterus covering caeca from the level of ventral sucker to the end of caeca. This is the fourth trematode species recorded parasitizing Hoplosternum littorale.     

A new species of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Falcaustra</Emphasis> (Nematoda,Kathlaniidae) from <Emphasis Type="Italic">Cnemaspis</Emphasis> aff. <Emphasis Type="Italic">tro pidogaster</Emphasis> (Squamata,Gekkonidae) from Sri Lanka

Falcaustra desilvai sp. nov. (Ascaridida, Kathlaniidae) from the large intestine of Cnemaspis aff. tropidogaster (Squamata, Gekkonidae) is described and illustrated. Falcaustra desilvai represents the 4th nematode species from Sri Lanka to be assigned to the genus and is distinguished from other Sri Lankan species by the distribution pattern of caudal papillae (12 precloacal, 2 adcloacal, 10 postcloacal, and 1 median), length of spicules (956–1046 μm) and absence of a pseudosucker.     

The life cycle of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Stephanoprora aylacostoma</Emphasis> n.sp. (Digenea: Echinostomatidae), parasite of the threatened snail <Emphasis Type="Italic">Aylacostoma chloroticum</Emphasis> (Prosobranchia,Thiaridae), in Argentina

A new species, Stephanoprora aylacostoma is described and its life cycle was resolved experimentally. The prosobranch snail Aylacostoma chloroticum Hylton Scott, collected in the Yacyretá dam, Province of Misiones, Argentina, was found naturally infected with large-tailed cercariae possessing a prepharyngeal body and corpuscles in the excretory system but lacking collar spines. Metacercariae, which encysted on the gills of experimentally infected fishes Cnesterodon decemmaculatus (Jenyns) and Poecilia reticulata (Peters) (Poecilidae), developed collar spines after 10 days. Tetragonopterid fishes Moenckhausia dichroura (Kner), Astyanax erythropterus (Holmberg) and Hyphesobrycon serpae (Durbin in Eigenmann) were found infected naturally. Sexually mature adults were recovered from domestic chicks at day 7 post-exposure. Eggs shed in chick faeces developed to miracidia within 13–15 days; sporocysts were found on the gills of snails. The new species differs from other species of the genus in its larger eggs, in the smaller, slender body and smaller collar spines of the adult and in the morphological and biological features of the larval stages.     

Description of two new species of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Rhadinorhynchus</Emphasis> (Acanthocephala,Rhadinorhynchidae) from marine fish in Halong Bay,Vietnam, with a key to species

Two rhadinorhynchid species of acanthocephalans, Rhadinorhynchus dorsoventrospinosus sp. nov. and Rhadinorhynchus laterospinosus sp. nov. are described from the redtail scad, Decapterus kurroides Bleeker, and the trigger fish Balistes sp., respectively. The hosts were collected off Cat Ba Island, Halong Bay, Gulf of Tonkin, Vietnam in May, 2009. This brings the total number of species of Rhadinorhynchus Lühe, 1911 to 38. Specimens of the first species are characterized by having 11–12 proboscis hook rows with 30–31 hooks each, large dorsal and ventral spines in the posterior field of trunk spines, large eggs (100 × 20), and subterminal gonopore in both males and females. It is further characterized by many prominent fragmented nuclei in the body wall. The 1 female of the second species has 18 proboscis hook rows with 24 hooks each, smaller eggs (62 × 17), lateral trunk spines connecting those in the anterior and the posterior fields, and subterminal female gonopore. Notes on the genus Rhadinorhynchus, lists of the invalid and valid species, and a key to species are provided. Raorhynchus Tripathi, 1959 is proposed to be a junior synonym of Rhadinorhynchus pending a revision of the species of Raorhynchus.     

<Emphasis Type="Italic">Rhabdias mcguirei</Emphasis> sp. nov. (Nematoda,Rhabdiasidae) from the flying lizard, <Emphasis Type="Italic">Draco spilopterus</Emphasis> (Squamata,Agamidae) of the northern Philippines

Rhabdias mcguirei sp. nov., is described on the basis of specimens found in the lungs of northern Philippine flying lizards, Draco spilopterus (Reptilia, Agamidae) collected in Aurora province, Luzon Island, Philippines. It is characterized by a rounded oral opening, a buccal capsule consisting of anterior and posterior parts, and the shape of the cuticular inflation in the anterior part of the body: the cuticle is less inflated in the anterior-most part, with the inflation gradually thickening up to the level of the oesophageal-intestinal junction. The new species is differentiated from the 11 most closely related species of Rhabdias previously known from lizards.     

A new opecoelid trematode, <Emphasis Type="Italic">Pseudopecoelus brayi</Emphasis> sp. nov. from the shoulderbar soldierfish, <Emphasis Type="Italic">Myripristis kuntee</Emphasis> off Visakhapatnam coast,Bay of Bengal

A new species of opecoelid trematode, Pseudopecoelus brayi sp. nov. is reported from the holocentrid fish, Myripristis kuntee collected from off Visakhapatnam coast, Bay of Bengal. The new species differs from related species by a combination of characters such as elongate body, deeply lobed gonads, tubular sinuous seminal vesicle extending up to the posterior border of ventral sucker, presence of a short cylindrical cirrus sac enclosing the cirrus and the vitelline zone extending anterior to ventral sucker. This is the 7th species of the genus to be reported from Indian marine fishes and the fifth species from holocentrid fishes. A key for separation of the species of Pseudopecoelus is given.