The taxon Syndermata comprises the biologically interesting wheel animals ("Rotifera": Bdelloidea + Monogononta + Seisonidea) and thorny-headed worms (Acanthocephala), and is central for testing superordinate phylogenetic hypotheses (Platyzoa, Gnathifera) in the metazoan tree of life. Recent analyses of syndermatan phylogeny suggested paraphyly of Eurotatoria (free-living bdelloids and monogono...

A serotonergic pathway is apparently involved in parasite-host interactions. Previous studies conducted in our laboratory showed increased rates in oxygen consumption and alterations in body posture in the crab Hemigrapsus crenulatus parasitized by the acanthocephalan, Profilicollis antarcticus. Such changes may be related to the functions described for biogenic amines in crustaceans. During th...

Cystacanths of Polyacanthorhynchus rhopalorhynchus (Diesing, 1851) Travassos, 1920 were discovered in the viscera of venton, Hoplias malabaricus (Bloch, 1794) collected from the Moca Vie River at Las Palquitas, Bolivia. Apical proboscis organ and general morphological features were similar to but less developed than those of Polyacanthorhynchus kenyensis Schmidt and Canaris, 1967 cystacanths fr...

Amphipods are commonly parasitized by acanthocephalans and microsporidians and co-infections are found frequently. Both groups of parasites are known to have severe effects on their host. For example, microsporidians can modify host sex ratio and acanthocephalans can manipulate the behavior of the amphipod to promote transmission to the final host. These effects influence host metabolism in gen...

A total of 284 specimens of Scianidae fishes Kathala axillaris and Nibea albida were collected from Parangipettai coastal waters southeast coast of India and examined for endohelminth parasites. Seven helminth species were recorded. Capillaria brevispicula, Porrocaecum reticulatum, Leppetascaris lutijani (Nematodes), Hemiurus appendiculatus, Stephanostomum triacanthi (Trematodes), Rhadinorhynch...

From April 1997 through April 1998, 128 raccoons (Procyon lotor (Linnaeus)) collected from 7 sites representing 4 physiographic areas in South Carolina were examined for gastrointestinal helminth parasites. Four species of nematodes (Gnathostoma procyonis (Chandler), Physaloptera rara Hall and Wigdor, Arthrocephahis lotoris (Schwartz), and Molineus barhatus Chandler) and 2 species of acanthocep...

Helminth parasites are reported for the first time from northern spotted owls. Seventy-one percent of a sample of Strix occidentalis caurina from western Oregon was infected. Nematodes (Porrocaecum depressum, Capillaria falconis, Microtetrameres sp. and Synhimantus hamatus) were the most prevalent parasites although cestodes (Paruterina rauschi) and acanthocephalans (Centrorhynchus conspectus) ...

Opegaster ouemoensis sp. n. is described from Periophthalmus argentilineatus Valenciennes (Gobiidae). Distinctive features included the weak or undetectable papillae of the ventral sucker and the small, but distinct cirrus-sac. The new species is compared with 25 marine species of Opegaster for which a table of measurements and ratios is presented. The new combination Opegaster queenslandicus (...

The aim of this study was to investigate the post-cyclic transmission of Acanthocephalus tumescens (von Linstow, 1896) from Galaxias maculatus Jenyns to Oncorhynchus mykiss (Walbaum). Wild G. maculatus naturally infected with A. tumescens were fed to cultured rainbow trout, which were sacrificed at the second, third and fourth weeks post infection. Normally attached male and female acanthocepha...

The paper reviews all the reports concerning parasitic fauna of three species carps cultured in Al-Furat fish farm, Babylon province, mid Iraq. These fishes included common carp (Cyprinus carpio), grass (Ctenopharyngodon idella) and silver (Hypophthalmichthys molitrix) as well mullet (Liza abu) found same farm. 60 valid parasite species: ten protozoans, myxozoans, 29 monogeneans, one trematode,...