Paulisentis missouriensis (Acanthocephala) occurs in creek chub Semotilus atromaculatus in 2 drainages, South Fork and Turkey Creek, of the Big Nemaha River system in southeastern Nebraska, U.S.A., but not in 2 other drainages, Muddy Creek and North Fork. The present investigation tested the hypothesis that stream habitat characteristics limit P. missouriensis to the South Fork and Turkey Creek drainages. Habitat characteristics were compared between sites in drainages where the worm occurs and where it is absent, with pools being significantly larger and more closely spaced in drainages with the worm. Within Turkey Creek, where the worm is modestly abundant, metrics describing pool size were significantly correlated with abundance of P. missouriensis. However, this effect was primarily due to the influence of 1 site, and the relationship was not evident when the drainage where the worm is abundant (South Fork) was included; in these analyses, variables describing water chemistry (oxygen concentration and total water hardness) were significantly associated with abundance of P. missouriensis. Characteristics of pool habitats appear to be able to explain the absence of P. missouriensis in the Muddy Creek and North Fork drainages, but these same characteristics are not as closely associated with variation in the abundance of P. missouriensis in the South Fork and Turkey Creek drainages where the worm is found.

In total, 158 bloaters Coregonus hoyi collected in September and October 2011 from 4 Lake Michigan, U.S.A., ports were examined for parasites. The ports included Waukegan (WK), Illinois; Port Washington (PW) and Sturgeon Bay (SB), Wisconsin; and Saugatuck (SG), Michigan. Parasites found in bloaters by port were cestodes Cyathocephalus truncatus (WK, PW, and SB) and Eubothrium salvelini (WK, PW, SB, and SG); the nematode Cystidicola farionis (WK, PW, SB, and SG); acanthocephalans Acanthocephalus dirus (WK and PW), Echinorhynchus salmonis (WK, PW, and SB), and Neoechinorhynchus tumidus (SB); and the copepod Salmincola corpulentus (WK and PW). Gravid individuals of all parasite species were found except for E. salvelini and A. dirus. Cystidicola farionis had the highest prevalence at each port, and the highest mean intensity and mean abundance at PW. The numbers of C. farionis at PW were significantly higher than those at WK and SB. Echinorhynchus salvelini had the highest mean intensities and mean abundances at WK, SB, and SG. The values for parasite species richness in bloaters were similar among ports. The total numbers of parasites were similar between WK and PW, but they were higher at these ports than at SB. The parasite faunas of bloaters were characterized by autogenic helminth species.

Pseudocorynosoma constrictum Van Cleave, 1918 (Polymorphidae) is an endoparasite that infects a variety species of waterfowl from North America. Specimens of P. constrictum were recovered in central Mexico from 7 species of definitive host as well as from the freshwater amphipod Hyalella azteca, its intermediate host. In total, 69 amphipods were infected with 15 acanthella and 58 cystacanths. Morphologically, the adults and cystacanths of P. constrictum possess triangular spines covering most of the anterior part of the trunk, they have a slight constriction separating the anterior and posterior regions of the trunk, and they have an ovoid or cylindrical proboscis with a slightly swollen region covered with 16 longitudinal rows of 10 hooks each. Sequences of the mitochondrial coding gene cytochrome c oxidase were generated for 21 samples of P. constrictum (14 adults, 3 acanthella, and 4 cystacanths). The genetic divergence estimated among specimens was very low, ranging from 0 to 3%. All these sequences were aligned with 18 other taxa, representing 6 genera of Polymorphidae, forming a data set of 39 taxa with 655 nucleotides. The maximum parsimony and maximum likelihood trees indicated that the 21 sequences of P. constrictum formed a well-supported clade. The morphological evidence, in combination with the genetic divergence, plus the systematic position in the phylogenetic trees, indicated that all the samples of P. constrictum belong to the same lineage. The presence of P. constrictum in 7 species of waterfowl from central Mexico could be explained as a result of host-sharing, as the result of these hosts occurring in sympatry, and by the fact that they feed on the same species of amphipod known to harbor cystacanths. This study also confirms that a complete life cycle occurs in central Mexico wetlands.

Five specimens of a new species of Uvitellina Witenberg collected from the air sacs of a black-winged stilt, Himantopus himantopus, collected from the Kherson Region of the Ukraine, were described. Of the 9 species in the genus, Uvitellina himantopi n. sp. differs from all other species in the ratio of the width to the length of eggs (1∶1.8 [1∶1.6–1∶1.9] compared to a low of 1∶2.2 in Uvitellina adephis and a high of 1∶3.6 in Uvitellina teesae). Uvitellina himantopi n. sp. is most similar to Uvitellina iraquensis because, unlike the other 4 species in the genus with a rudimentary oral sucker (Uvitellina indica, Uvitellina kaniharensis, Uvitellina macroisophaga, and U. teesae), these 2 species have an oral sucker that is typically wider than the pharynx (1∶1.0–1∶1.2 oral sucker width/pharynx width compared to 1∶0.8–1∶0.9 in the other 4 species) and a similar cirrus sac length (370–400 long [3–4% of body length] compared to 300–490 [3–5%]). Uvitellina himantopi n. sp. has a larger body than U. iraquensis (12,118–15,100 long compared to 7,750–10,459), wider eggs (105 maximum width compared to 88), and unlike in U. iraquensis, the vitelline fields of U. himantopi n. sp. are attenuated posteriorly at their confluence to form a conspicuous, posteriorly directed point.

The identities of 2 freshwater adult digenean species from the southeastern United States belonging in the Apocreadiidae, and consistent with the genus Homalometron Stafford, 1904, are investigated. One species is from the intestine of Aplodinotus grunniens from the Pearl River bordering Louisiana and Mississippi, U.S.A., and the other is from the intestine of Lepomis microlophus in the Pascagoula River, Mississippi, U.S.A. Both species closely resemble Homalometron armatum (McCallum, 1895) Manter, 1947, and differentiation among the 3 forms by conventional morphological features is found to be ambiguous and unreliable. Ribosomal DNA, consisting of the partial 18S nuclear rDNA gene, internal transcribed spacer regions ( = ITS1 5.8S ITS2), and partial 28S gene, is compared among the 3 forms, revealing considerable genetic differences. The 2 adult forms are consequently considered cryptic species in Homalometron. Additionally, metacercariae from snails collected from the same or similar habitats that support the 2 cryptic species are identified by matching their rDNA sequences with those from adults. The metacercariae from both forms are found to be present in south central Louisiana, U.S.A., and the metacercariae of the adult form from the Pearl River are found to occur in the Pascagoula River.

A new microphallid digenean, Maritrema patagonica n. sp., is described from the freshwater anomuran crab, Aegla spp. Naturally infected anomuran individuals from lakes and rivers were collected in the northern region of Argentinean Patagonia. Experimental ovigerous specimens were recovered from the intestine of chicks and from in vitro culture. Adults of the new species can be distinguished by having a small body size, papillae distributed along the edge of the forebody, unspined cirrus, and a complete vitelline ring. This microphallid is the first larval digenean species to be reported from Aegla spp.

Porangatus ceteyus n. gen., n. sp. is erected to accommodate some specimens of Digenea recovered from the intestine of Hoplosternum littorale. Hosts were collected in lakes located near the junction of the Solimões and Negro rivers, Amazonas State, Brazil. The new genus differs from the others in the family mainly in the distribution of vitellarium, consisting of 2 lateral groups extending from the level of the anterior margin of the ventral sucker, where they may be confluent, to near the posterior end of body, occupying cecal, extracecal and intercecal areas.

The woolly mouse opossum Marmosa demerarae and the murine opossum, Marmosa murina, occur in sympatry across most of their range; however, they are not syntopic in that M. demerarae is more abundant in the canopy of primary and secondary forest, while M. murina is scansorial and appears to be more abundant in lower forest strata. We herein present a survey and comparison of the helminths occurring in these 2 species in French Guiana based on examinations of 18 individuals of M. murina and 21 individuals of M. demerarae. At the level of the component community, species richness was established at 12 for M. demerarae and 14 for M. murina; the nematodes Pterygodermatites (Paucipectines) elegans and Aspidodera raillieti were established as the most abundant and prevalent species in M. demerarae and M. murina, respectively. Infracommunities in both species had an average species richness of 3.7 and 3.8, respectively. Both species share 12 species of parasites, yet Phaneropsolus philanderi, Pterygodermatites (Paucipectines) elegans, Travassostrongylus paraquintus, Trichuris reesali, and Spirura trinitatis were significantly more frequent in M. demerarae. Infections also included Mathevotaenia bivittata, an unidentified anoplocephalid, and Viannaia venezuelensis, all 3 species of which were more frequent in M. murina.

Abbreviata bancrofti (Irwin-Smith, 1922), (Physalopteridae) is redescribed from specimens recovered from the type host, Phyllurus platurus, and Abbreviata confusa (Johnston and Mawson, 1942) becomes a junior synonym. Adults and a small number of large immature larvae, not identifiable to species, were recovered at low prevalence and intensity from 37 P. platurus, five of which also contained third-stage physalopterid larvae encysted in stomach tissues. Phyllurus platurus is one of the smaller lizards to support adult Abbreviata. More than 60% of dissected stomachs contained from 1 to >100 very small (∼0.9–1.4 mm) third-stage physalopterid larvae in the lumen which could not be identified to species. All were of a similar size and morphology. I report the first record of a Skrjabinodon sp. from this host.

Twenty-eight specimens of the introduced diplopod Anadenobolus monilicornis (Spirobolida: Rhinocricidae) were collected in Key Largo, Florida and examined for parasitic intestinal nematodes. Two rhigonematid species, Heth mauriesi Adamson, 1982 and Ruizia karukerae Hunt, 1999 were discovered at 100% prevalence. The morphology of both species was verified by light and scanning electron microscopy. These species represent the first United States records for members of the genera Heth and Ruizia. The rich rhigonematid fauna in the Caribbean region, which has been documented on islands such as Cuba, Guadeloupe, and Puerto Rico, indicates the potential for future additional introductions of rhigonematids to North America.

Phenotypic plasticity is the capacity of a single genotype to exhibit a range of phenotypes in response to environmental variation. For a parasite, different hosts represent different environments. The septate gregarine parasite Leidyana subramanii (Apicomplexa: Eugregarinorida) can infect at least 17 species of grasshopper. To determine if L. subramanii exhibited host-induced phenotypic plasticity, we cultured this gregarine species in 2 different grasshopper hosts (Eyprepocnemis alacris alacris and Poekilocerus pictus). Our results indicated that host species dramatically influenced L. subramanii morphology. When reared in E. a. alacris, the gamonts of L. subramanii were 5 times longer and wider than when reared in P. pictus. The smaller size of the parasite when reared in P. pictus may be influenced by the grasshopper's unique diet and chemical defenses. Poekilocerus pictus feeds on toxic milkweeds (Calotropis spp.) and sequesters plant cardenolides in its tissues. These plant-derived compounds may influence growth and development of the parasite. Our findings indicate that gregarines can exhibit phenotypic plasticity. Such plasticity is seldom discussed in the scientific literature, despite the fact that parasite intraspecific variability, including phenotypic plasticity, can confuse species identification and confound remediation. As such, these data indicate that parasitologists studying gregarines need to be aware of intraspecific variation in their study organisms.

Kalicephalus burseyi n. sp. (Nematoda: Diaphanocephalidae) is described from a snake, Oxyrhabdium leporinum, on Luzon Island, Philippines. Unequal spicule length places the new species in the subgenus Kalicephaloides, which also includes Kalicephaloides bungari, Kalicephaloides longispicularis, and Kalicephaloides alatospiculus. Kalicephalus burseyi n. sp. has shorter spicules than K. longispicularis and longer spicules than in K. alatospiculus and K. bungari. The new species also differs from the other three species in details of the copulatory bursa morphology and some other features. The new species is the ninth member of the genus reported from the Philippines and the first Kalicephalus species found in O. leporinum.

Fishes were collected from Campbell Cove of Bodega Bay, Sonoma County, California, U.S.A., and examined for the presence of parasitic isopods to expand upon the 1986 survey by Waugh et al. (1989). The isopod Elthusa californica was found to parasitize Cymatogaster aggregata and Atherinops affinis with slightly less prevalence than observed by Waugh et al. (1989), but these differences were not statistically significant. Four additional hosts for this isopod were also recorded. A second species of parasitic isopod previously unrecorded in Campbell Cove, Elthusa vulgaris, was also found on 4 hosts. The presence of a second species of parasitic isopod along with new host/parasite records suggests that this area may be important for future isopod research and should continue to be monitored.

Parapharyngodon jairajpurii n. sp. from the rectum of the yellow-bellied house gecko, Hemidactylus flaviviridis Ruppell, 1835, collected in Dehradun, India, is described, illustrated, and photomicrographed. It represents the eighth species of Parapharyngodon from the Oriental realm and 48th species assigned to the genus. Of the Oriental species, Parapharyngodon jairajpurii n. sp. is most similar to Parapharyngodon adamsoni in that males of both species possess 4 pair of papillae and a smooth anterior cloacal lip, while females of both species possess a stout tail spike, 6 simple lips, and a prebulbar ovary. These two species differ in that males of P. adamsoni have spicules reaching 120 µm in length compared to spicules of P. jairajpurii, which reach 75 µm in length; females of P. adamsoni have smooth egg shells compared to the punctate eggs of P. jairajpurii.

Six species of ranid frogs, Hylarana arfaki, Hylarana garritor, Hylarana jimiensis, Hylarana papua, Hylarana volkerjane, Hylarana waliesa, and 1 species of myobatrachid frog, Lechriodus aganoposis from Papua New Guinea, were examined for helminths. Found were adults of 6 species of Nematoda, Aplectana macintoshii, Cosmocercoides pulcher, Desmognathinema papuensis, Paracapillaria spratti, Paraplesioheduris ranae, and Pseudorictularia disparilis. Larvae of 1 species of Abbreviata, 1 species of Acanthocephala, Pseudoacanthocephalus bufonis, and cestode cysticerci (undetermined) were also found. Thirteen new host records and 1 new locality record are reported.

The route of transmission is important in the epidemiology of protozoan and helminth parasites, with water, soil, and food being particularly important pathways of dissemination. Both the potential for producing large numbers of infective stages and their environmental robustness poses persistent threats to public and veterinary health. Increased demands made on natural resources increases the likelihood of encountering environments and consumables that are contaminated with parasites. The aim of the present work was to study the prevalence and some potential risk factors associated with intestinal parasitic infections linked to the soil that is found in and around water points, and to relate the data obtained with the infective forms of parasites found in fecal samples of preschool children in a randomly chosen urban quarter of Yaoundé, Cameroon. Six of the 20 soil samples collected in and around wells contained parasites in Elig Edzoa quarter, whereas there was an average of 2.4 of 12 soil samples in the other 5 quarters analyzed that harbored infective forms of the intestinal pathogens. The pathogens isolated, identified, and enumerated in the soil samples were Ascaris lumbricoides, Ancylostoma duodenale, Taenia spp., Trichuiris trichiura, Entamoeba spp., Enterobius vermicularis, and Hymenolepis nana. Analysis of fecal samples in children below 5 years of age revealed the presence of Ascaris lumbricoides, Entamoeba hartmani, Taenia spp., Giardia lamblia, Cryptosporidium spp., Trichomonas sp., and Tricocephalus.

Paulisentis missouriensis is a common acanthocephalan parasite of creek chub (Semotilus atromaculatus) in the streams of 2 drainages (South Fork and Turkey Creek) in the Big Nemaha River system in southeastern Nebraska, U.S.A., but is absent from streams in the remaining 2 drainages (Muddy Creek and North Fork). The present investigation tested whether intrinsic host-related factors are responsible for the distributional limit of P. missouriensis in this system. Copepods and creek chub were collected from streams where the worm is absent and exposed to infective stages of P. missouriensis under laboratory conditions. In addition, creek chub from areas lacking the worm were maintained in cages in a stream where the worm is abundant. Both creek chub and copepods from streams lacking the worm became infected under laboratory and field conditions. These results reject the possibility that the cause of the abrupt distributional limit of P. missouriensis in the Big Nemaha River system is due to intrinsic host-related phenomena. Other hypotheses that could account for the distributional limit include differing transmission conditions among drainages, environmental limits on completing development, and long-term spatiotemporal factors.

Thirty American robins (Turdus migratorius, Turdidae) and 10 house sparrows (Passer domesticus, Passeridae) were collected in June and July 2010 and 2011 from SW suburban Chicago, Illinois, and examined for helminths. In total, 9 helminth species (1 digenetic trematode: Lutztrema monenteron; 2 cestodes: Choanotaenia sp. and Paricterotaenia sp.; 5 nematodes: Chandlerella quiscali, Porrocaecum ensicaudatum, Splendidofilaria sp., Syngamus trachea, and Synhimantus nasuta; and 1 acanthocephalan: Plagiorhynchus cylindraceus) occurred in 30 American robins. Both Choanotaenia sp. and P. cylindraceus had the highest prevalence (40%). Lutztrema monenteron had the highest mean intensity (37), followed by Syngamus trachea (8.7), which also had the highest mean abundance (3.2). Juvenile American robins were parasitized by 7 of the 9 species, indicating that the majority of parasites found have a focus of infection in the suburban environment. Three helminth species (1 trematode: Urogonimus sp.; 1 cestode: Paricterotaenia sp.; and 1 nematode: Splendidofilaria sp.) occurred in 10 house sparrows. Urogonimus sp. and Paricterotaenia sp. each had a prevalence of 20%. Urogonimus sp. had the highest mean intensity (18.5) and mean abundance (3.7) in house sparrows. Gravid individuals of all helminth species were found. The survey reported herein is consistent with previous helminthological studies conducted on the helminths of American robins and house sparrows, except for the occurrence of Paricterotaenia sp. and Chandlerella quiscali in robins.

Hemolivia mauritanica is an apicomplexan parasite infecting the tortoises Testudo graeca and Testudo marginata as the intermediate vertebrate host, and the tick Hyalomma aegyptium as the definitive invertebrate host. Here, we used molecular techniques to detect an apparent H. mauritanica in the ticks H. aegyptium, attached to Testudo graeca from North Africa. Sequences from 18S rRNA were used to place the new sequences, and others retrieved from GenBank, in a phylogenetic framework. A single Hemolivia haplotype was recovered from 16 ticks. Prevalence was estimated at 22.6% of hosts having ticks infected with H. mauritanica.

Between 1991 and 1993, 295 lizards, comprising 21 species in 2 families (Gekkonidae, Scincidae) from the Cook Islands, Fiji, Palau, Takapoto, and Vanuatu in the South Pacific, were examined for Cryptosporidium oocysts. Only 6 lizards (2%) were found to be passing Cryptosporidium oocysts in their feces, including 2 of 30 (7%) Oceania geckos, Gehyra oceanica, from Rarotonga, Cook Islands, and 4 of 26 (15%) Pacific blue-tailed skinks, Emoia caeruleocauda, from Efate Island, Vanuatu. This represents the largest survey for Cryptosporidium in Pacific island lizards, and we document 2 new host and 2 new locality records for this parasite genus.

Cnemidophorus gramivagus from Brazil was examined for helminths. Found were 1 species of Cestoda, Oochoristica freitasi, and 7 species of Nematoda, Amphibiocapillaria freitasilenti, Kentropyxia sauria, Oswaldocruzia vitti, Parapharyngodon senisfaciecaudus, Physaloptera retusa, Spinicauda spinicauda, and Acuariid gen. sp. Seven new host records are recorded. Cnemidophorus gramivagus and other South American teiids are parasitized by generalist helminths that also infect other lizard species. In contrast, North American teiid lizards host helminth species mainly restricted to members of the Teiidae.

Streptocara formosensis (Nematoda: Acuariidae) is recorded for the first time from South America (Chubut Province, Argentina) and from the Chubut steamerduck, Tachyeres leucocephalus (Aves: Anatidae), enlarging its host and geographical distribution. To our knowledge, this is the first record of a parasite in this bird species.

One of 4 Georgia blind salamanders (25%), Eurycea wallacei from Dougherty County, Georgia, U.S.A., were found to be infected in its small intestine with a Bothriocephalus sp. tapeworm; a single E. wallacei from Jackson County, Florida, U.S.A., was negative. Because the internal anatomy of this worm was immature, species identity was not possible. This is the first definitive report of any parasite from this G2 ranked (globally imperiled) host and a new distribution record for the genus.

Eighteen lesser mouse-eared bats, Myotis blythii (Tomes 1857) (Vespertilionidae) from Zanjan Province, Iran, were examined for parasites and found to harbor one species of Cestoda, Hymenolepis rhinopomae; one species of Nematoda, Molinostrongylus alatus; one species of Diptera, Penicillidia dufourdi; and one species of mite, Spinturnix andegavinus. Myotis blythii represents a new host record for Hymenolepis rhinopomae, and Iran is a new locality record for Molinostrongylus alatus.