title: Contracaecum multipapillatum (Nematoda: Anisakidae) from Egretta alba (Aves: Ardeidae) and comments on other species of this genus in Argentina.
abstract: During a parasitological survey of aquatic birds in Mar Chiquita coastal lagoon (Buenos Aires province, Argentina), specimens of Contracaecum Raillet & Henry, 1912 sp. were found in the esophagus and stomach of the great egret Egretta alba (Gmelin, 1789) (Aves: Ardeidae). The nematodes were identified as Contracaecum multipapillatum (Drasche, 1882) on the basis of the following features: ratio of ventricular appendage length to esophagus length, ratio of intestinal caecum length to esophagus length, spicule lengths, number and arrangement of postcloacal papillae (3-4 pairs of adanal papillae, 1 double pair, and a subterminal group of 2 subventral and 3 sublateral pairs). A complete description of the adult specimens of C. multipapillatum is given in the present paper, together with a discussion regarding the validity of other species of Contracaecum reported from Argentina. Contracaecum philomultipapillatum Labriola and Suriano, 1996 is reduced to a junior synonym of C. multipapillatum, and Contracaecum longicaecum Schuurmans Sterkhoven, 1952 is considered a species inquirenda. A revision of Contracaecum spheniscus Boero and Led, 1970 based on appropriate material is necessary.
authors.affiliation: Laboratorio de Helmintos, Centro de Estudios Parasitológicos y de Vectores, CONICET-UNLP, La Plata, Argentina.
authors.forename: G T
authors.initials: GT
authors.lastname: Navone
authors.forename: J A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Etchegoin
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Cremonte
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D017191:Ascaridida Infections / Q000469:parasitology / Q000662:veterinary*; D001199:Ascaridoidea / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000145:classification* / Q000302:isolation & purification; D001715:Bird Diseases / Q000469:parasitology*; D001717:Birds; D005260:Female; D008297:Male