title: First report of Filaria martis Gmelin, 1790 in the European mink, Mustela lutreola (Linnaeus, 1761).
abstract: The riparian European mink (Mustela lutreola), currently surviving in only three unconnected sites in Europe, is now listed as a critically endangered species according to the IUCN. Habitat loss and degradation, anthropic mortality, interaction with the feral American mink (Neovison vison), and infectious diseases are among the principal causes of its decline. Surveys of helminth parasites of this host that also include focus on subcutaneous potentially pathogenic helminths such as those belonging to the genus Filaria are very scarce. We report here the presence of specimens of Filaria martis in the subcutaneous connective tissues of three M. lutreola individuals from Spain. This is the first finding of a subcutaneous nematode in a representative of the genus Mustela. The report also enlarges the known range of the definitive hosts of this nematode. These worms were mainly located in the dorsal region of mink and more rarely in the knees, elbows, and hips. Skin sloughing was only observed in one M. lutreola with both septicaemia and an associated high burden of F. martis. Therefore, more attention should be paid to potentially pathogenic helminths when designing conservation programs dedicated to M. lutreola.
authors.affiliation: Departament de Biologia, Sanitat i Medi ambient, Facultat de Farmàcia i Ciències de l'Alimentació, Universitat de Barcelona, Av. Joan XXIII, sn, 08028, Barcelona, Spain. jtorres@ub.edu.|Institut de Recerca de la Biodiversitat (IRBio), Universitat de Barcelona, Av. Diagonal 645, 08028, Barcelona, Spain. jtorres@ub.edu.
authors.forename: Jordi
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Torres
authors.affiliation: Departament de Biologia, Sanitat i Medi ambient, Facultat de Farmàcia i Ciències de l'Alimentació, Universitat de Barcelona, Av. Joan XXIII, sn, 08028, Barcelona, Spain.|Institut de Recerca de la Biodiversitat (IRBio), Universitat de Barcelona, Av. Diagonal 645, 08028, Barcelona, Spain.
authors.forename: Jordi
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Miquel
authors.affiliation: GREGE, Route de Préchac, 33730, Villandraut, France.
authors.forename: Christine
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Fournier-Chambrillon
authors.affiliation: Laboratoire de Biologie Evolutive, Unité de Génetique de la Conservation, Université de Liège, Institut de Botanique B22, Quartier Vallée 1, Chemin de la Vallée 4, 4000, Liège, Belgium.
authors.forename: Adrien
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: André
authors.affiliation: Gestión Ambiental de Navarra S.A., Padre Adoain, 219 Bajo, 31015, Pamplona, Spain.
authors.forename: Fermín
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Urra Maya
authors.affiliation: Servicio de Conservación de la Biodiversidad del Gobierno de Navarra, C/ González Tablas 9, 31005, Pamplona, Spain.
authors.forename: Gloria
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Giralda Carrera
authors.affiliation: GREGE, Route de Préchac, 33730, Villandraut, France.
authors.forename: Pascal
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Fournier
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001483:Base Sequence; D003238:Connective Tissue / Q000469:parasitology; D003247:Conservation of Natural Resources; D003576:Electron Transport Complex IV / Q000235:genetics; D056727:Endangered Species; D005260:Female; D005368:Filariasis / Q000469:parasitology / Q000662:veterinary*; D005370:Filarioidea / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D008297:Male; D008907:Mink / Q000469:parasitology*; D013030:Spain
chemical_list: D003576:Electron Transport Complex IV
keywords: Filaria martis; Mustela lutreola; New host record; Spain