Lissorchis amniculensis n. sp. is described from the small intestine of creek chubsuckers collected from a small tributary stream of Big Sandy Creek in the Big Sandy Creek Unit of the Big Thicket National Preserve, Polk County, Texas, U.S.A. Members of the new species possess a distinct trilobed ovary, a feature found in individuals of 9 other species of Lissorchis. The new species is distinguished from these species by possessing a bipartite seminal vesicle with the distal portion larger than the proximal portion, vitelline follicles that extend beyond the posterior extent of the testes, a small posttesticular space, and a single dextral uterine loop that originates from the posttesticular space.

Caecincola autumnae n. sp. is described from the pyloric ceca of spotted bass (Micropterus punctulatus) collected from Big Sandy Creek in the Big Sandy Creek Unit of the Big Thicket National Preserve, Polk County, Texas, U.S.A. It can be distinguished from all other species of Caecincola by the presence of an ovary with 4 lobes and a narrowly obpanduriform to narrowly obpyriform body.

Three new species of Syphacia Seurat 1916 (Oxyurida: Oxyuridae) are described from rodents (Rodentia: Muridae) in Queensland, Australia. Syphacia (Syphacia) helidonensis n. sp. from Pseudomys gracilicaudatus (Gould 1845) can be distinguished from all other species by a suite of characters including an oval-shaped cephalic plate, elongated laterally with dorso-ventral constriction at the level of laterally placed amphids and cephalic papillae, lateral but not cervical alae, and a single pair of postanal papillae. Syphacia (Syphacia) boodjamullaensis n. sp. from Zyzomys argurus (Thomas, 1889) also has an oval-shaped cephalic plate, elongated laterally with dorso-ventral constriction at the level of laterally placed amphids and cephalic papillae, a single pair of postanal papillae, neither cervical nor lateral alae, and spicule 77 µm long. Syphacia (Syphacia) carnarvonensis n. sp. from Pseudomys delicatulus (Gould, 1842) with an oval-shaped cephalic plate, elongated laterally with dorso-ventral constriction at level of laterally placed amphids and cephalic papillae and a single pair of postanal papillae, also has both cervical and lateral alae, small body size, males 690–865 µm, and eggs 77–86 µm long, 24–29 µm wide. A key to the species of Syphacia from the Australian Bioregion is given, and the potential for as yet undiscovered species in the region is discussed.

Pseudocapillaria nannupensis n. sp. (Nematoda: Capillariidae) is described from the intestine of the freshwater cobbler, Tandanus bostocki (Plotosidae) from the Blackwood River in the southwest of Australia. Although there have been 7 species of capillariids described from teleost fishes in Australia, this is the first species belonging to the genus Pseudocapillaria. The presence of a dorsal cuticular membrane in the male places this species in the subgenus Ichthyocapillaria. However, the dorsal cuticular membrane is only very small, so there are also some similarities with members of the subgenus Pseudocapillaria. It resembles Pseudocapillaria indica but differs by the larger size of the eggs, by the reticulated surface structure of the eggs, and by the larger spicule. It differs from Pseudocapillaria tomentosa by the structure of the proximal spicule rim and in having a vulval opening closer to the esophago-intestinal junction. It differs from Pseudocapillaria salvelini by the structure of the proximal spicule rim, in having a vulval opening closer to the esophago-intestinal junction, and by having a much shorter dorsal cuticular membrane.

Thirteen of 51 (25.5%) Jefferson salamanders, Ambystoma jeffersonianum, and 4 of 69 (5.8%) small-mouthed salamanders, Ambystoma texanum, from east-central Illinois were found to be infected with metacercariae of Clinostomum marginatum; 1 of 72 (1.4%) spotted salamanders, Ambystoma maculatum from north-central Arkansas was found to be infected with metacercariae of Clinostomum attenuatum. We provide a new host record for C. attenuatum and 2 new host records and a new locality record for metacercariae of C. marginatum. In addition, a list of the amphibian hosts of metacercariae of Clinostomum spp. is provided.

The frequency distribution and seasonal changes of intestinal helminths in Pelteobagrus fulvidraco were investigated from February 2001 to July 2002 in Liangzi Lake in the floodplain of the Yangtze River, central China. Four parasite species were found: the cestode Gangesia pseudobagri and the digeneans Orientocreadium siluri, Coitocoecum plagiorchis, and Echinoparyphium lingulatum. There was a significant difference in the mean abundance of O. siluri between male (8.12 ± 16.99) and female hosts (3.19 ± 5.42). Parasite distribution patterns were all overdispersed (s²/x¯ > 1) and followed the negative binomial distribution. In the analysis of changes in mean parasite abundance and variance to mean ratio with host age, convex curves were observed for G. pseudobagri and O. siluri. This suggests that these 2 helminths may have had deleterious effects on the hosts. Significant seasonal changes were detected in the prevalence and mean abundance of the 4 helminths other than for the prevalence of O. siluri. The mean abundance of O. siluri, C. plagiorchis, and G. pseudobagri reached a peak in the spring, and E. lingulatum had the highest infection levels in the spring and early summer.

Two closely related species of swamp skink (Lissolepis coventryi and Lissolepis luctuosus) occur in Australia, one in the extreme southeast and the other in the southwest of the country. They are separated by more than 2,000 km of arid country, and they have been isolated from one another for a considerable period of time, possibly more than 20 million years. We investigated the gastrointestinal nematode fauna of each using preserved museum lizards. More than 80% of each species of lizard was infected with nematodes. Three new species of nematode are described; Spinicauda victoriae n. sp. occurs only in L. coventryi in the southeast and Spinicauda similis n. sp. only in L. luctuosus in the southwest, each occurring at a similar prevalence and intensity. Moaciria paucipapillata n. sp. occurs in both populations. Abbreviata antarctica also occurs in both populations, though infrequently in L. coventryi. Pseudorictularia disparilis was present in 14% of L. coventryi, attesting to the aquatic habitat this lizard. The close similarity of the two species of Spinicauda, which differ only in the form of the eggs, indicate a common ancestry. The presence of A. antarctica adults in these semi-aquatic hosts supports the suggestion that this morphologically variable species originated in a cool, damp environment and has adapted to a wider range of hosts and to a less-humid environment. The cestode Oochoristica vacuolata was recovered primarily from L. coventryi.

Fourteen amphibians (7 species) and 37 reptiles (25 species) collected from 3 sites in the Pastaza Province of the Republic of Ecuador were examined for helminths. A total of 6 (42.7%) individual amphibians and 18 (48.6%) individual reptiles were infected. Five (71.4%) of the amphibian species (4 frogs, 1 toad) and 10 (40.0%) of the reptile species (4 lizards, 6 snakes) were found to harbor 1 species of helminth; 1 amphibian species (14.3%) and 5 reptile species (13.2%) harbored 2 species of helminths each. One species of cestode and 16 species of nematodes, together representing 11 families, were found in the herpetofauna surveyed. Twenty-five new host and 15 new geographic records are documented. When compared to other South American countries, the majority of parasites reported herein for Ecuador have been reported previously in herpetofauna from Brazil.

Sixteen specimens representing 7 species of lizards (Hoplocercus spinosus, Ophiodes striatus, Polychrus acutirostris, Stenocercus caducus, Tropidurus guarani, Tropidurus itambere, and Tupinambis merianae) collected in the Cerrado biome at the Brazilian state Mato Grosso do Sul were examined for helminths. Nine species of nematodes were recovered from lizard hosts (Cruzia travassosi, Cyrtosomum sp., Diaphanocephalus galeatus, Gynaecometra bahiensis, Pharyngodon cesarpintoi, Physaloptera sp., Skrjabinellazia intermedia, Strongyluris oscari, and an unidentified species of nematode). Five new host records and 3 new locality records were reported.

Between March 1997 and September 2000, 3 species of owls (Bubo virginianus, Strix varia, Megascops asio), 4 species of hawks (Buteo jamaicensis, Buteo platypterus, Accipiter cooperii, Accipiter striatus), and 1 species of falcon (Falco sparverius) from Connecticut, U.S.A. were examined for gastrointestinal parasites. Eighteen species of helminths (10 trematodes, 1 cestode, 6 nematodes, and 1 acanthocephalan) were collected for the first time from the northeastern United States in general and Connecticut and New England in particular. The trematodes Ophiosoma microcephalum from B. jamaicensis and Neodiplostomum accipitris from A. striatus represent new host records. The trematode Microparyphium facetum collected from B. virginianus represents the first report of this helminth from a North American owl. The tapeworm Paruterina rauschi is reported for the first time from S. varia. The nematode Baruscapillaria falconis is reported for the first time from M. asio, A. cooperi, and A. striatus. The acanthocephalan Centrorhynchus kuntzi is reported for the first time from A. cooperi. One species of trematode (Neodiplostomum americanum) and 2 species of nematodes (Baruscapillaria falconis, Porrocaecum depressum) were shared between species of owls and hawks.

Sciadicleithrum iphthimum is reported from the gills of Pterophyllum scalare (Cichlidae), collected from aquarium markets in Uttar Pradesh, India. The new material fits well with the original species description. The report represents a new geographic record and another case of a growing list of freshwater monogenoids that are being distributed around the world by the aquarium trade.

A total of 5 helminth species (3 Nematoda: Rhabdochona cotti, Freitascapillaria laticauda, Cystidicoloides ephemeridarum; 2 Trematoda: Phyllodistomum undulans, Crepidostomum sp.) infected sculpins, Cottus spp., from 3 Maryland creeks in November 2005 and May 2006. Gravid individuals of R. cotti and P. undulans occurred in blue-ridge sculpin, Cottus caeruleomentum, from Little Fishing Creek; gravid individuals of F. laticauda and R. cotti occurred in C. caeruleomentum and in Potomac sculpin, Cottus girardi, from Blue Lick Run, respectively; and gravid R. cotti occurred in mottled sculpin, Cottus bairdii, from Little Bear Creek. One immature female capillariid-like nematode occurred in C. girardi from Blue Lick Run. Rhabdochona cotti in C. caeruleomentum from Little Fishing Creek and in C. bairdii from Little Bear Creek had the highest prevalence, mean intensity, and mean abundance, followed by P. undulans in C. caeruleomentum from Little Fishing Creek. The mean parasite species richness values were low and ranged from 0.39 to 1.27 in the Cottus spp. This is the first report of parasites from C. girardi, and the second report of parasites from C. caeruleomentum in North America.

Four species of Phyllodactylus from Peru were examined for helminths: P. inaequalis, P. johnwrighti, P. lepidopygus, and P. microphyllus. One species of Cestoda, Oochoristica travassosi, and 3 species of Nematoda, Parapharyngodon scleratus, Spauligodon oxkutzcabiensis, and Acuariidae gen sp. were found. Six new host records are reported.

The trout-perch, Percopsis omiscomaycus (Walbaum), is a widely distributed species in North America. Despite several compound community surveys, the northernmost survey of trout-perch parasites is from southern Manitoba, Canada. A total of 42 parasite species have been reported from trout-perch, with 2 species being strictly host specific. During limnological surveys of Sid and Blitzen lakes, Northwest Territories, Canada, 4 parasite taxa were recovered from trout-perch: Protozoan cysts, Diplostomum sp., Proteocephalus sp., and Crepidostomum percopsisi. The present study area is approximately 1,547 km northwest of Dauphin Lake, which is the northernmost documented range for C. percopsisi. These data provide further support for Halvorsen's “constant fauna” as a general rule for north temperate fish parasite communities. Comparisons with other trout-perch surveys from more southern portions of the biogeographic range suggest that parasite composition, at least in small, nutrient- and species-poor lakes at northern latitudes have decreased richness, despite trout-perch having a diverse diet compared with more southern surveys. The intermediate host of C. percopsisi is unknown. Other Crepidostomum spp. are transmitted through Ephemeroptera, which occur in the diet of the trout-perch from Blitzen and Sid lakes. However, the high prevalence of cladocerans in this study, similar to other published reports, might implicate cladocerans as a potential intermediate host for C. percopsisi.

Aplectana macintoshii (Stewart, 1914) Travassos, 1931, is reported for the first time from 2/8 (25%) western olive toads (Amietophrynus poweri) and 1/2 (50%) Tschudi's African bullfrogs (Pyxicephalus adspersus) from Namibia, southwest Africa. This cosmocercid nematode is widely ranging in amphibians and reptiles of 5 biogeographical realms, including the Afrotropical, Indomalayan, Neotropical, Oceanian, and Palearctic. A summary of all currently known hosts and geographic localities for A. macintoshii is included.

Macrobdella ditetra were found to take blood meals from the salamander Siren intermedia collected from Tuskegee National Forest in Alabama, U.S.A. This is a new host record for M. ditetra, the first record of leech parasitism in this family of salamanders, and only the second article reporting an ectoparasite from this family.

The nematode Camallanus corderoi infects the intestine of native fishes and introduced salmonids in southern Chile between 39°S and 41°S. Among the 4 most common and widely distributed species of copepods in freshwaters of the region that were challenged, only Mesocyclops araucanus (Cyclopoida) was susceptible to experimental infection with C. corderoi. At temperatures of 20 ± 1°C, free first-stage larvae of C. corderoi had reached the hemocoel by 4 hr after ingestion by the copepods. The first molting of larvae was observed on day 2 postinfection (PI). Unsheathed second-stage larvae were observed in the hemocoel at day 3 PI, and had molted by day 6. Unsheathed third-stage larvae were recovered on day 7 PI. Third-stage larvae had a tail with 3 conical processes and a buccal capsule composed of a single chamber with a basal ring and longitudinal ridges.

The status of Androlaelaps rotundus (Fonseca) (Acari: Gamasida: Laelapidae) is solidified by designating a lectotype and series of paralectotypes based on museum specimens. These specimens were studied from the Acari Collection of the Instituto Butantan in São Paulo, Brazil. New morphological details given here suggest that a species of Necromys Ameghino may be the host of the type series of A. rotundus.