title: Leeches on mudskippers: host-parasite interaction at the water's edge.
abstract: A host-parasite relationship was observed, for the first time, between a piscicolid leech and a species of amphibious goby (Scartelaos tenuis) from an intertidal mud flat in southern Iran. Morphological and molecular investigations assign the leech to Zeylanicobdella arugamensis. Of the 3 endemic and sympatric mudskipper species living in the Persian Gulf (S. tenuis, Boleophthalmus dussumieri, and Periophthalmus waltoni), leeches were only found on S. tenuis (prevalence and mean intensity = 71.4% and 2.3 +/- 2.5, respectively), which is also the most-aquatic mudskipper species. Scartelaos tenuis is not the largest species, but more leeches (> or =4 leeches/host) were found on larger specimens (>12 cm standard length [SL]). Nonetheless, in aquaria, leeches also attached on P. waltoni. This suggests either an ecological partitioning of host-parasite complexes, determined by host habitat selection, or leech limited-resistance to air exposure, or both.
authors.affiliation: Dipartimento di Biologia Animale e dell'Uomo, Istituto di Zoologia, University of Rome La Sapienza, V.le dell'Università, 32, 00195 Rome, Italy. polgar@alfanet.it
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Polgar
authors.forename: E M
authors.initials: EM
authors.lastname: Burreson
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Stefani
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Kamrani
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D004247:DNA / Q000737:chemistry / Q000302:isolation & purification; D004478:Ectoparasitic Infestations / Q000469:parasitology / Q000662:veterinary*; D005393:Fish Diseases / Q000469:parasitology*; D005618:Fresh Water / Q000469:parasitology; D019015:Geologic Sediments / Q000469:parasitology; D006790:Host-Parasite Interactions; D007865:Leeches / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology*; D010473:Perciformes / Q000469:parasitology*; D010802:Phylogeny; D016415:Sequence Alignment / Q000662:veterinary
chemical_list: D004247:DNA