Despite growing concern of the ecological risks posed by the European catfish Siluris glanis L. in freshwater fisheries, little information exists on the parasite fauna of this silurid catfish in Britain. Parasitological examinations of released S. glanis from four still-water fisheries in England revealed the presence of Thaparocleidus vistulensis (Siwak, 1932) and Ergasilus sieboldi (Nordmann...

Trematodes of Audouin 3 gull, La rus audouinii (Aves, Laridae), from Chafarinas lslands (W Mediterranean).-A survey was carried out on the trematode fauna of Larus audouinii Payraudeau, 1826 (Aves, Laridae) in the Alboran Sea, south-western Mediterranean. A total of 10 trematode species was found: Sch/josomaatinae gen. sp., Ornithobilharzia sp., Pachytrerna calculus, Renico/a lar( Brachylecithu...

The major histocompatibility complex (MHC) is a key model of genetic polymorphism, but the mechanisms underlying its extreme variability are debated. Most hypotheses for MHC diversity focus on pathogen-driven selection and predict that MHC polymorphism evolves under the pressure of a diverse parasite fauna. Several studies reported that certain alleles offer protection against certain parasites...

The endoparasite fauna of the spiny mouse (Acomys spinosissimus) was studied for the first time from April 2007 until April 2009 in a population from the Limpopo Province of South Africa. In a total of 129 mice examined, only 6 endoparasite taxa were found, 2 nematode species (Syphacia minuta, Monanema joopi), 1 genus of cestodes ( Rodentolepis spp.), and unidentified hymenolepidid fragments. I...

Rats are capable to harbor various pathogens, among which certain species of zoonotic parasites are included. A long-term detection of parasite fauna of rats has sporadically been carried out in Iran. Abundance of these vertebrate pests is of great importance as regards public health issue. The present paper is focused on a digenean trematode Plagiorchis muris, obtained during a comprehensive s...

Native and exotic fishes were collected from 29 sites across coastal and inland New South Wales, Queensland and Victoria, using a range of techniques, to infer the distribution of Bothriocephalus acheilognathi (Cestoda: Pseudophyllidea) and the host species in which it occurs. The distribution of B. acheilognathi was determined by that of its principal host, carp, Cyprinus carpio; it did not oc...

The study of parasitism related to biological invasion has focused on attributes and impacts of parasites as invaders and the impact of introduced hosts on endemic parasitism. Thus, there is currently no study of the attributes of hosts which influence the invasiveness of parasites. We aimed to determine whether the degree of domestication of introduced mammalian species - feral introduced mamm...

A total of 128 spiny eels Mastacembelus mastacembelus (Mastacembelidae) were collected from theGreater Zab river at Iski Kalak town, west of Erbil city, Kurdistan region, Iraq, from July 2007 to the end ofJune 2008. The fish were examined for ecto and endo parasites. The study revealed the existence of 16species of parasites (with a total prevalence of 89.06%) including: two species of protozoa...