First record of Huffmanela schouteni (Nematoda: Trichosomoididae), a histozoic parasite of flyingfishes, in Europe.
Examination of 3 specimens of the Mediterranean flyingfish Cheilopogon heterurus (Rafinesque) from the Ligurian Sea, Italy, revealed the presence of numerous, dark-shelled trichinelloid eggs (69 to 75 x 30 to 33 microm) inside the innermost layer of the swimbladder, mostly located in clumps arranged in a distinct pattern. These were identified as Huffmanela schouteni Moravec et Campbell, 1991, a species known so far as eggs in flyingfishes and in the stools of humans in Curaçao. This is the first finding of this parasite in Europe and C. heterurus represents a new host record.
Moravec
Frantisek
F
Institute of Parasitology, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, Branisovská 31, 37005 Ceské Budĕjovice, Czech Republic. moravec@paru.cas.cz
Garibaldi
Fulvio
F
D000400:Air Sacs / Q000469:parasitology*; D000818:Animals; D023761:Beloniformes / Q000469:parasitology*; D005843:Geography; D008522:Mediterranean Sea; D009348:Nematoda / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000502:physiology*