Systematic study of the closely related hemiurid genera Mitrostoma, Neopisthadena and Opisthadena revealed that Opisthadena cortesi is a junior synonym of Opisthadena dimidia and Opisthadena fujianensis and Opisthadena marina are species inquirendae. Phylogenetic analysis of the 7 recognized species, based on 21 transformation series derived from comparative morphologic characters, produced a s...

The phylogenetic analysis of the 16 recognized genera in the Bunocotylinae, based upon 30 morphological transformation series, produced 2 most parsimonious trees, each with a consistency index of 0.62. The monophyly of the group is supported by 6 synapomorphies. Ahemiurus, Aphanuroides, Aphanurus, Myosaccium, and Indoderogenes separate independently in the basal part of the tree. Saturnius and ...

Half-beaked fish, Dermogenus pusillus, collected from Mueang, Hang Dong, Doi Saket and Saraphi Districts, Chiang Mai Province, were examined for their infection status with Stellantchasmus falcatus (Digenea: Heterophyidae) metacercariae. The infection rate of the fish was 100%. Fish in three of four districts were found only to have metacercariae of S. falcatus, whereas those in Saraphi Distric...

The release of Maritrema subdolum cercariae (Digenea: Microphallidae) from the marine mud snail Hydrobia ulvae is significantly affected by temperature, salinity, light and exudates from the second intermediate amphipod host. Based on (i) previously published data on temperature-salinity dependent H. ulvae activity, (ii) new experimental data on H. ulvae activity in light and darkness as well a...

The metacercariae of Acanthotrema felis Sohn et al., 2003 (Digenea: Heterophyidae) were discovered in a species of the brackish water fish, Acanthogobius flavimanus, in the Republic of Korea. They were experimentally fed to kittens, and adult flukes were harvested 7 days later. The adults were morphologically characterized by the presence of a bipartite seminal vesicle, the ventral sucker assoc...

Parasites, in particular trematodes (Platyhelminthes: Digenea), play major roles in the population dynamics and community structure of invertebrates on soft-sediment mudflats. Here, we provide a list of the 20 trematode species currently known to infect molluscs, crustaceans and polychaetes from Otago Harbour (New Zealand) soft-sediment intertidal areas, as well as information on their transmis...

We examine the evolution of host specificity for species of Telorchis, using the methods developed by researchers studying phytophagous insect-plant systems. Optimization of "generalist" compared with "specialist" onto the phylogeny for Telorchis revealed ambiguous patterns, depending on how the 2 terms were defined. Regardless of that definition, most of the evolutionary diversification of thi...

The application of molecular systematics to the parasitic Platyhelminthes (Cestoda, Digenea and Monogenea) over the last decade has advanced our understanding of their interrelationships and evolution substantially. Here we review the current state of play and the early works that led to the molecular-based hypotheses that now predominate in the field; advances in their systematics, taxonomy, c...

The present paper reports three new echinostome cercariae with a review of known 18 spp. of Japanese echinostome cercariae. They were found from the brackish water snails collected from a muddy seashore at Urayasu during the past years from 1944 to 1952. One of these, Cercaria pseudo grani f era n. sp., bearing a strong resemblance to Cercaria grani f era Ogata, 1943, differed from it in detail...

Rhipidocotyle pentagonum (Ozaki, 1924) is reported for the first time in South America parasitizing Auxis thazard and in a new host Katsuwonus pelamis. Tergestia laticollis (Rudolphi, 1819) is reported for the first time in South America and in Thunnus albacares, representing a new host record. Copiatestes filiferus (Leuckart, in Sars, 1885) is recorded for the first time in Brazil and in Thunn...