Procedures for a digestion technique were modified to identify an optimum approach for recovering trematode metacercariae from large, terrestrial snails. Brachylaima thompsoni and Panopistus pricei were recovered via HCl/pepsin digestion from field-collected snails, Webbhelix multilineata and Neohelix albolabris. The incubation temperature, duration, concentration of digestion fluid, agitation, and centrifugation settings were modified until a set of procedures resulted in thorough digestion of the snail body while minimizing the required time to run the procedure and maximizing the fraction of metacercariae that remained alive and active. Most metacercariae died during lengthy digestions and/or those with high concentrations of HCl and pepsin. The optimal procedure identified included a 2 hr digestion in 0.7% HCl and 0.8% pepsin at 37°C with initial cutting of the snail foot and periodic agitation during digestion. This method resulted in recovery of metacercariae that were nearly always alive and appeared no different than specimens recovered by direct dissection of snails. The method developed here is but one of many used for recovery of parasites, usually nematodes, from their invertebrate or vertebrate hosts, but it focuses on those characteristics that allow live trematode recovery.

Substitution rates in genes can provide information about their evolutionary dynamics and divergence among either species or protein groups. This work presents PANAS, a computational pipeline developed to facilitate the obtention of substitution rates in large amounts of genomic data from different taxa. We tested PANAS by analyzing the evolution of the mitochondrial protein-coding genes (PCGs) from 18 species of platyhelminths. Our results suggest that the cox1, cox2, cytb, and nad1 genes are under strong selection pressure at the nucleotide and protein level in platyhelminths.

The redescription of Serratospiculum tendo is based on specimens taken from 4 female and 6 male peregrine falcons (Falco peregrinus Tunstall). This redescription was necessary since previous morphological characterizations were only based on single nematodes, and important details such as the position of the excretory pore in males and females, description of the female reproductive system, and the size of the posterior caudal disc of males were not given. Serratospiculum tendo differs from its 2 congeners (Serratospiculum seurati and Serratospiculum guttatum) by a longer body length of males and females (113–166 and 293–340 mm, respectively) and longer right and left spicules (452–531 and 1,104–1,341 µm, respectively). In comparison, the body length of male and female specimens of S. seurati is 30–79 mm and 165–220 mm, respectively, and the spicules of the males measured 312–415 and 674–887 µm, respectively. The absence of cuticular bosses in S. tendo and S. seurati is a criterion to differentiate these species from S. guttatum.

The goal of this study was to assess ectoparasite-small mammal host associations in central-west Portugal in native and exotic habitats, respectively, including a cork oak woodland and a Eucalyptus plantation. Mammals were sampled with Sherman and pitfall traps, and ectoparasites were collected and identified in all samples. We trapped 681 small mammals: 5 rodent species - wood mouse, Apodemus sylvaticus (N = 527); the Algerian mouse, Mus spretus (N = 67); Cabrera's vole, Microtus cabrerae (N = 8); the Lusitanian pine vole, Microtus lusitanicus (N = 2); and the black rat, Rattus rattus (N = 1) - and 1 insectivore species - the greater white-toothed shrew, Crocidura russula (N = 76). We identified 4 flea species (Nosopsyllus fasciatus, Ctenophthalmus sp., Typhloceras favosus, and Typhloceras poppei); 5 tick species (Haemaphysalis punctata, Ixodes ricinus, Ornithodoros sp., Rhipicephalus pusillus, and Rhipicephalus sanguineus); and 1 chigger species (Neotrombicula sp.) from hosts. The wood mouse was the small mammal species with the highest overall ectoparasite prevalence, although ticks were the least prevalent taxon. We found that ectoparasite guilds represented a somewhat generalist host pattern, and chiggers presented some host specificity. The data presented herein increase the knowledge regarding ectoparasite prevalence and distribution among small mammal hosts in the Mediterranean. Although surveys of ectoparasites of small mammals in central-west Portugal are not novel, this is the first time that a species belonging to the genus Ctenophthalmus is reported from M. cabrerae (Cabrera's vole) in Portugal.

Coccidiosis is a serious parasitic disease that causes severe economic losses in rabbits. Commercial probiotics are widely used as potential therapeutic replacements for weight gain and increased resistance to many diseases. This study was conducted to determine the efficacy of a probiotic product called MiaClost as a liquid extract to protect animals from Eimeria stiedae infection. Thirty New Zealand white rabbits were divided into 5 equal groups. Rabbits in the first 3 groups were treated with concentrations of 10⁷, 10⁸, and 10⁹ colony-forming units (CFU) per ml of MiaClost in their drinking water for 10 days before experimental infection with 1 × 10⁴ of sporulated oocyst of E. stiedae. The last 2 groups served as positive and negative control groups. We found a significant reduction in mortality in rabbits receiving 10⁹ CFU/ml MiaClost as well as an improvement in weight retention and food consumption ratios. Beneficial low oocyst output in feces of rabbits treated with 10⁹ CFU/ml MiaClost led to a reduction in pathological changes in the liver and gall bladder. Our findings suggest that a liquid extract of MiaClost in concentration of 10⁹ CFU/ml can provide protection against hepatic coccidiosis. Further research is needed to test this product against other diseases through different routes of consumption in animals.

A new species of Mathevotaenia Akumyan, 1946 (Cestoda: Anoplocephalidae) is described from the Andean tuco-tuco, Ctenomys opimus Wagner 1848 (Rodentia: Ctenomyidae), collected in 1984 on the Altiplano of Bolivia. This is the second species of anoplocephalid cestode recorded from rodents of the genus Ctenomys, the first being Monoecocestus torresi Olsen 1976 from the Maule tuco-tuco, Ctenomys maulinus Philippi 1872, documented in southwestern Argentina. The new species of Mathevotaenia described here has more testes per segment than any other described species of the same genus from South America. The description of a new species from a decades-old specimen highlights the need for continuous examination of museum material as well as the need for collection of new specimens from rapidly disappearing biomes around the world.

The current biogeographic knowledge of Streblidae remains poor. We report a species inventory, host association, ranges, and probable relevance as vectors of pathogens in bats from a botanical garden in a region of northeastern Puebla, Mexico. Additionally, we report new streblids for Puebla including: Aspidoptera phyllostomatis, Aspidoptera delatorrei, Metelasmus pseudopterus, Megistopoda proxima, Paratrichobius longicrus, Speiseria ambigua, Strebla curvata, Strebla guajiro, Trichobius dugesii, and Trichobius joblingi. Highly diverse urban botanical gardens such as this help to maintain biodiversity where natural vegetation and domestic plants are mixed with different animal communities. Mixed vegetation provides a refuge and food for a wide range of wildlife, including bats.

Haliotrema obesum (Caballero y C., Bravo Hollis, and Grocott, 1955) Young, 1968 (Dactylogyridae) is redescribed from specimens collected from the white-spotted puffer, Arothron hispidus (Linnaeus) in Moreton Bay, Queensland, Australia, where its occurrence represents a new faunal record for the bay. The species is also reported on A. hispidus and the masked puffer, Arothron diadematus (Rüppel) collected from the Red Sea off Safaga, Egypt, and on the stellate puffer, Arothron stellatus (Anonymous) from Moreton Bay. The finding of H. obesum in the Red Sea and on A. diadematus and A. stellatus represent new locality and host records for the helminth. Ancyrocephalus ornatus Yamaguti, 1968 from A. hispidus off Hawaii and the Palmyra Atoll is treated as a junior subjective synonym of H. obesum. The dactylogyrid is retained in Haliotrema (sensu lato) pending development of a diagnosis for Haliotrema (sensu stricto) and of a better understanding of the taxonomic limits of similar dactylogyrid genera.