From August 2011 to November 2013, 68 opossums (8 Didelphis sp., 40 Didelphisvirginiana, 15 Didelphismarsupialis, and 5 Philanderopossum) were collected in 18 localities from 12 Mexican states. A total of 12,188 helminths representing 21 taxa were identified (6 trematodes, 2 cestodes, 3 acanthocephalans and 10 nematodes). Sixty-six new locality records, 9 new host records, and one species, the ...

Rattus spp trapped in wet markets in Quiapo, Manila and Balayan, Batangas had ectoparasites, Echinolaelaps echidnius (mite), and Polyplax spinulosa (louse). The endoparasites identified were Hymenolepis diminuta; the acanthocephalan Moniliformis moniliformis; Taenia taeniaeformis strobilocercus larvae and Capillaria hepatica in liver; Trichosomoides crassicauda of the urinary bladder; Sarcocyst...

BACKGROUND Corvidae is a cosmopolitan family of oscine birds including crows, rooks, magpies, jays, chough, and ravens. These birds are migratory species, especially in the shortage of foods, so they can act like vectors for a wide range of microorganisms. They live generally in temperate climates and in a very close contact with human residential areas as well as poultry farms. There is no ava...

The degree to which host suitability is a reflection of host community structure in generalist parasites was studied experimentally in the common fish acanthocephalan Leptorhynchoides thecatus. Previous study has shown that green sunfish (Lepomis cyanellus) are required, and largemouth bass (Micropterus salmoides) are suitable (but not required) hosts, where they occur sympatrically in natural ...

The acanthocephalan parasite Acanthocephalus dirus develops from the egg to the cystacanth stage inside the freshwater isopod Caecidotea intermedius. We have shown previously that cystacanth-infected male C. intermedius are less likely to initiate mating attempts with females than uninfected males in competitive situations. Here, we used a field-based experiment to examine whether cystacanth-in...

This paper challenges two paradigms long held in relation to the ecology of parasites in freshwater systems: (1) autogenic species are poorer colonisers than allogenic ones; and (2) parasites with direct life cycles are more successful colonisers than those with complex life cycles. Using new and existing data for Acanthocephala in freshwater fish from the British Isles, it is suggested that al...

Some larval helminths alter the behavior of their intermediate hosts in ways that favor the predation of infected hosts, thus enhancing trophic transmission. Gammarids (Crustacea: Amphipoda) offer unique advantages for the study of the proximate factors mediating parasite-induced behavioral changes. Indeed, amphipods infected by distantly related worms (acanthocephalans, cestodes and trematodes...

Echinorhynchustruttae and the Echinorhynchusbothniensis species complex are common parasites of salmoniform and other fishes in northern Europe. Echinorhynchusbothniensis and its sibling species Echinorhynchus 'bothniensis' are thought to be closely related to the Nearctic Echinorhynchusleidyi Van Cleave, 1924 based on morphological similarity and common usage of a mysid intermediate host. This...

The present study was performed to investigate the infection status with helminth in a group of feral cats in Korea. More than 29 helminth species including adults or eggs were detected in visceral and fecal samples of the examined cats. Among these were a host of nematodes, including toxocarids, Ancylostoma sp. and the larva of Anisakis simplex; trematodes, including Clonorchis sinensis, Parag...

The effects of the acanthocephalan parasites Profilicollis antarcticus and P. novaezelandensis on the fecundity and mortality of three species of shore crab (Macrophthalmus hirtipes, Hemigrapsus edwardsi and H. crenulatus) are examined. The number of eggs produced by female crabs was strongly correlated (all P<0.05) with carapace width; parasite load was not a significant determinant of female ...