This study redescribes Andrya sciuri Rausch, 1947 (Anoplocephalidae) from the northern flying squirrel, Glaucomys sabrinus (Shaw), in North America, to redefine the morphology and generic position of this poorly known cestode. Andrya sciuri is shown to belong unambiguously to the genus Paranoplocephala Lühe, 1910 sensu Haukisalmi and Wickström (2005). Paranoplocephala sciuri is compared with 4 species that resemble it morphologically, and features that can be used in its identification are presented. It is suggested that P. sciuri has speciated through a shift from arvicoline rodents (voles and lemmings) to G. sabrinus.

Nine species of spinefoots, Siganus spp., were examined for Pseudohaliotrema spp. (Monogenoidea, Dactylogyridae) from Australia, China, and Egypt. The findings of Pseudohaliotrema sphincteroporus on the gills of Siganus doliatus, Siganus lineatus, and Siganus corallinus and Pseudohaliotrema molnari on the gills of Siganus corallinus, S. doliatus, S. lineatus, and Siganus punctatus from the Great Barrier Reef, Australia, represent new host and locality records for these helminths. Siganus fuscescens from Australia and China; Siganus argenteus, Siganus rivulatus, and Siganus luridus from Egypt; and Siganus vulpinus from Australia were negative for Pseudohaliotrema spp. Pseudohaliotrema is revised and P. sphincteroporus and P. molnari are redescribed; drawings of the sclerotized parts of the haptor and male reproductive system and measurements of Pseudohaliotrema falcata are provided based on available paratypes. Pseudohaliotrema is limited to 3 species: P. sphincteroporus, P. molnari, and P. falcata. Pseudohaliotrema sigani and Pseudohaliotrema virgata are considered junior subjective synonyms of P. sphincteroporus.

Cyclocotyloides bergstadi n. sp. is described from the gills of grenadier, Coryphaenoides brevibarbis (Macrouridae), from the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, North Atlantic Ocean. The new species differs from Cyclocotyloides pinguis by being significantly smaller and by lacking a subterminal protuberance on the anteromedial sclerite of the clamp. The generic diagnosis of Cyclocotyloides is emended.

Hapalorhynchus reelfooti Byrd, 1939 is redescribed based on specimens collected from the type host Sternotherus odoratus, collected in Virginia and Indiana. The type specimens show evidence of severe contraction during fixation, with subsequent loss of internal integrity and stain; therefore, they could not be used in the redescription. Hapalorhynchus reelfooti is most similar to Hapalorhynchus gracilis Stunkard, 1922 in overall form; however, it differs from that species in the possession of a cirrus sac containing a small pars prostatica, and an oval versus tricornuate egg. The presence of a cirrus sac in H. reelfooti suggests a similarity to Hapalorhynchus brooksi Platt, 1988 and Hapalorhychus stunkardi Byrd, 1939; however, it differs from those species on the basis of a variety of morphometric characters. Hapalorhynchus evaginatus Byrd, 1939 was misidentified and is considered a junior synonym of Vasotrema attenuatus Stunkard, 1928.

During a study of the endohelminths of wading birds from the Texas Gulf coast, 4 specimens of an undescribed species of Wardianum (Cyclocoelidae: Haematotrephinae) were collected from willets, Catoptrophorus semipalmatus, from the Galveston, Texas, area. Wardianum catoptrophori n. sp. can be distinguished from all the other species in the genus (Wardianum chauhani, Wardianum. facioi, Wardianum lateriovari, Wardianum taxorchis, Wardianum triangulare, and Wardianum wilsoni) by having a pharynx that is wider than long. It can be distinguished from all other species in the genus except W. facioi by having uterine loops that extend laterally beyond the outer margin of the ceca approaching the body wall and that extend posteriorly along the lateral margins of both testes to the level of the posttesticular space but that do not invade the intertesticular space. The new species differs from W. facioi by having a larger body size (14.0 [12.5–16.5] mm long by 3.5 [3.0–4.0] mm wide compared with 6.6–7.5 mm long), a larger ovary (350–450 wide compared with 260–267), smaller eggs (120–130 long by 55–70 wide compared with 134–138 by 71–72), an oral sucker, and W. catoptrophori lacks uterine branches extending between the ovary and the left testis that are present in W. facioi. This is the first report of a species of Wardianum from a species of Catoptrophorus.

A new species of digenean inhabiting the white-tipped dove, Leptotila verreauxi Bonaparte, 1855, in the Area de Conservación Guanacaste, Costa Rica, resembles Pojmanskia riosae Zamparo, Brooks, and Causey, 2003, but it differs in having a spined cirrus, pars prostatica outside the cirrus sac, ovary separated from the anterior testis by uterine coils to a length of at least two-thirds a testis diameter, and uterine loops in the hindbody not overlapping the ovary or posterior testis. The new species is also similar to species of Michajlovia Pojmanska, 1973, but it differs by having a spined cirrus, and gonads well separated from each other. Consequently, we propose a new genus for the new species. The great crested flycatcher, Myiarchus crinitus Linnaeus, 1758; white-lored gnatcatcher, Polioptila albiloris Sclater & Salvin, 1860; streak-headed woodcreeper, Lepidocolaptes souleyetii Des Murs, 1849; and the elegant trogon Trogon elegans Gould (1834) are new hosts for Pojmanskia riosae; and the spotted antbird, Hylophylax naevioides Lafresnaye (1847); and the white-lored gnatcatcher, Polioptila albiloris, are new hosts for Bakkeius moragai Zamparo, Brooks, and Causey, 2003. A revised key to the leucochloridiid-like brachylaimoid genera is presented that accommodates this new genus.

Two American goldeneye ducks, Bucephala clangula americana (Anatidae), collected from the Galveston, Texas, U.S.A., area were infected with 5 (2 in 1 duck and 3 in the second) Ophthalmophagus bucephali n. sp. (Cyclocoelidae). Two additional specimens of this species, also collected from the American goldeneye from Hastings, Minnesota, U.S.A., were found in the holdings of the H. W. Manter Laboratory of Parasitology, University of Nebraska, Lincoln, U.S.A. The new species can be distinguished from all other species in the genus by having the ovary contiguous with the posterior testis and by having the prepharynx longer than the esophagus (approximately twice as long). Ophthalmophagus bucephali n. sp. can be distinguished from all other species except for Ophthalmophagus massinoi by having uterine loops that do not invade the postovarian space and from all species except Ophthalmophagus singularis by having the ovary contiguous with the posterior confluence of the ceca (cyclocoel). A checklist of parasites previously reported from B. clangula is also provided.

Helisoma trivolvis (Gastropoda) from 10 lentic ecosystems in New Jersey, U.S.A., was investigated on a seasonal basis from Fall 2003 to Fall 2004. A total of 6,766 H. trivolvis (5.7-22.9 mm shell diameter) was examined by isolation, and 8 different types of cercariae were recovered. Prevalence data from the 10 study sites showed cercariae of Echinostoma trivolvis from 9 sites (0.9–27.8%), cercariae of Zygocotyle lunata from 6 sites (0.1–7.7%), armatae cercariae from 4 sites (0.4–6.8%), brevifurcate apharyngeate cercariae from 4 sites (0.4–3.3%), longifurcate pharyngeate cercariae from 4 sites (0.002–3.6%), vivax cercariae from 2 sites (0.9–1.0%), brevifurcate pharyngeate cercariae from 1 site (0.6–1.1%), and gymnocephalous cercariae from 1 site (0.001%). The study showed that H. trivolvis is host to various different larval trematodes in New Jersey, and prevalence of digenean infections is affected by seasonality.

Third-stage larvae (L3) of Soboliphyme baturini were discovered for the first time in shrews, Sorex cinereus and Sorex tundrensis from Alaska and the Nearctic. Shrews were found to be infected with L3 at Suloia Lake, southeastern Alaska, Togiak National Wildlife Refuge, southwestern Alaska, and at the Yukon-Charley Rivers National Preserve near the Yukon-Alaska border. Larvae in shrews from Alaska were morphologically indistinguishable from those known in both insectivores and arvicoline rodents from Russia. The occurrence of S. baturini in Alaskan insectivores further establishes shrews as important hosts in the transmission of S. baturini among mustelids and other carnivores and indicates for the first time the basis for a paratenic cycle in the Nearctic.

As a result of the parasitological examination of the crabs, Uca uruguayensis (Ocypodidae) and Chasmagnathus granulatus (Varunidae), third-stage larval nematodes belonging to the family Acuariidae and to the genus Ascarophis were found in the crabs' hemocoel, both free and embedded in host tissues. Larval nematodes are described and illustrated here. The presence of these larval nematodes in both crab species may be influenced by the similarity in the crabs' habitat and feeding behavior. Both species of burrowing crabs inhabit the upper intertidal zones and feed on sediments, and consequently, they have similar chances of coming into contact with eggs and infective larval nematodes deposited in the feces of birds and fish definitive hosts. Since the life cycles of the larval nematodes from U. uruguayensis and C. granulatus remain unknown and because the adult stage is undescribed, they cannot be assigned to a given genus or species. The validity of a previous record of Skrjabinoclava sp. in U. uruguayensis from Bahía Samborombóm is also discussed.

The helminthological record of Rana cf. forreri in Acapulco municipality, Guerrero state, Mexico, consists of 19 taxa: 5 digeneans—Catadiscus rodriguezi, Haematoloechus coloradensis, metacercariae of Diplostomidae gen. sp., Mesostephanus sp., and Apharyngostrigea sp.; 2 cestodes—Cylindrotaenia americana and the plerocercoid of Diphyllobothriidae gen. sp.; 2 acanthocephalans—Neoechinorhynchus golvani and the cystacanth of Oncicola sp.; and 10 nematodes—Aplectana incerta, Cosmocerca podicipinus, Foleyellides striatus, Oswaldocruzia subauricularis, Rhabdias sp., and the larvae Contracaecum sp., Serpinema trispinosum, Gnathostoma sp., Physaloptera sp., and Globocephalus sp. Cosmocerca podicipinus and O. subauricularis were the most prevalent and abundant helminth species. The infection parameters for the remaining species ranged from 2.5% to 57.5% for the prevalence, and 1–18.7 for mean intensity.

One hundred ninety-one specimens representing 14 species of lizards, Ameiva ameiva, Basiliscus basiliscus, Corytophanes cristatus, Diploglossus monotropis, Echinosaura horrida, Gonatodes albogularis, Gymnophthalmus speciosus, Iguana iguana, Lepidoblepharis sanctaemartae, Lepidophyma flavimaculatum, Leposoma rugiceps, Mabuya mabouya, Polychrus gutturosus, and Thecadactylus rapicauda, from Panama were examined for helminths. Two species of Digenea, Mesocoelium monas and Parallopharynx arctus, 1 species of Cestoda, Oochoristica gymnophthalmicola n. sp., 21 species of Nematoda, 19 species capable of completing their life cycle in lizards, Africana telfordi, Aplectana herediaensis, Cosmocercoides variabilis, Cruzia mexicana, Cyrtosomum longicaudatum, Macdonaldius grassi, Oswaldocruzia panamaensis n. sp., Oswaldofilaria brevicaudata, Ozolaimus cirratus, Parapharyngodon colonensis n. sp., Physaloptera retusa, Piratuba digiticauda, Skrjabinelazia galliardi, Skrjabinodon caudolumarius n. sp., Skrjabinodon crassicauda n. sp., Skrjabinodon scelopori, Spauligodon oxkutzcabiensis, Spinicauda spinicauda, and Strongyluris panamaensis, and 2 species utilizing lizards as paratenic hosts, Ophidascaris sp. (larvae) and Acuariidae gen. sp. (larvae in cysts), and 1 species of Acanthocephala (cystacanths), were found. Thirty-seven new host records and 13 new locality records are reported.

We investigated the parasite community (arthropods and filarioids) associated with wild rodents from a marshy area in Buenos Aires province, Argentina. During 1995 and 1996, 105 sigmodontine rodents were trapped in The Reserva Selva Marginal de Punta Lara and in La Balandra (Argentina). Six sigmodontine species with a relative density (RDI) of 11.1% were trapped. A total of 3,371 specimens from 16 species of arthropods and 2 species of filarioids were collected. The values of parasite species richness (S) and prevalence (P) were as follows: from Scapteromys aquaticus S = 9; P = 96%, from Oligoryzomys spp. S = 8; P = 100%, from Oxymycterus rufus S = 8; P = 93%, and from Akodon azarae S = 6; P = 93%. The single Deltamys kempi captured was not parasitized. Parasite communities of S. aquaticus and Ox. rufus showed the highest similarity resulting from their overlapped microhabitats, not only when presence/absence of species was considered (Sorenson's index; Css = 82%), but also when the proportion of every species was taken into account (Pianka's index; O = 26.67). The 2 species of filarioids collected were restricted to Oligoryzomys spp. and Ox. rufus. The absence of lice and filarioids from Ox. rufus from La Balandra suggests an isolation of this host population from the northern localities. Considering arthropod–filarioid associations, a significant affinity was observed from Ox. rufus from Punta Lara, between Litomosoides oxymycteri and the mite Ornithonyssus bacoti. Scapteromys aquaticus and Ak. azarae may not be susceptible to filarioids; although Or. bacoti were recovered from both.

A survey, conducted during May 1998, 1999, and 2006, involving 174 procambarid crayfish from 13 localities within the states of Georgia, Alabama, and Mississippi, U.S.A., indicated that adult Alloglossidium dolandi infected the antennal glands of 5 new host species: Procambarus acutissimus, Procambarus acutus, Procambarus howellae, Procambarus paeninsulanus, and Procambarus troglodytes. Infected crayfish were taken from roadside ditches, streams, backwaters of streams, and a roadside flood pool adjacent to a river. Geographic distribution of the parasite formed a discontinuous belt extending westward from southeastern Georgia, through southern Alabama, and into eastern Mississippi, while transiting each crayfish host species' reported range. Prevalence of infection was 0% at 3 localities but ranged from 21.4% to 92.3% at 10 other localities.

Individuals of the cestode species Ctenotaenia marmotae (Frölich, 1802) (Cestoda: Anoplocephalidae) possessing duplicated rudimentary ovaries toward the medial parts of the segments were found in material collected from the Siberian marmot (Marmota sibirica) in Mongolia. This tapeworm is characterized by possessing one pair of female genitals per segment. The extra rudimentary ovaries that we found ranged from 1 to 6 in number per segment and were much smaller than the main pairs of ovaries. Although multiplication of ovaries was reported to occur in a species of Diandrya (Darrah, 1930) by Rausch (1980), this is the first report of multiplication of ovaries in this species of cestode.

Ninety-two tadpole madtom, Noturus gyrinus, collected in May through August 2005 from Silver Creek in Lower Michigan, were examined for parasites. Ten parasite species (5 Digenea, 1 Monogenea, 1 Cestoda, 1 Nematoda, 1 Acanthocephala, and 1 Ciliophora) infected madtom. Macroderoides sp. and Alloglossidium corti had the highest prevalence and mean abundance, respectively. Although Maritreminoides sp. had the highest mean intensity, it is considered an accidental parasite of tadpole madtom. Azygia sp., Macroderoides sp., Maritreminoides sp., and Neoechinorhynchus sp. are reported for the first time from tadpole madtom. This study is the first account of parasites of tadpole madtom from Michigan and represents the largest number of tadpole madtom examined for parasites from one locality in North America. A checklist of parasites of tadpole madtom from published records in North America is also presented.

Cestodes from Clethrionomys gapperi (n = 34) and Microtus longicaudus (n = 8) from Kootenay National Park, British Columbia, Canada are reported. Two species of cestodes, Hymenolepis horrida (sensu lato) and Catenotaenia peromysci, were found in Clethrionomys gapperi, and 1 species of cestode, H. horrida, was found in Microtus longicaudus. Clethrionomys gapperi represents a new host record for C. peromysci. The Canadian Rockies is a new locality record for both cestode species.

Tylodelphys scheuringi (Hughes, 1929) Dubois, 1938 (Trematoda) infected the brain of 22 (42%) of 52 central mudminnows, Umbra limi, collected in May through August 2005 from Silver Creek in Lower Michigan. This larval diplostomid was found unencysted under the dura mater of the optic lobes and cerebrum of the dorsal portion of the brain. The mean intensity and mean abundance of T. scheuringi were 8.5 ± 6.6 and 3.6 ± 5.9, respectively. The Spearman's rank correlation coefficient between intensity of T. scheuringi and mudminnow length was nonsignificant (r_s = 0.11, P > 0.05). The ventricles of the brain, the eyes, and the coelom were negative for T. scheuringi. This is the second report of T. scheuringi in the brain of fish from North America.

Five species of copepod crustaceans from four lakes in southern Chile were experimentally exposed to coracidia of Diphyllobothrium latum. Diphyllobothrium latum developed into mature procercoids in the calanoid copepods Boeckella gracilis and Diaptomus diabolicus, but only developed into the initial stage in the cyclopoid copepod Mesocyclops longisetus. The cyclopoid copepods Tropocyclops prasinus and Metacyclops mendocinus were not susceptible to the infection. In our experimental infections we obtained a prevalence of 26.8% in B. gracilis from Lake Malleco, 55.9% in D. diabolicus from Lake Rapel, 84.3% in D. diabolicus from Lake Panguipulli, and 7.7–22.6% for M. longisetus from Lake Panguipulli. The mean and maximum intensity were observed in D. diabolicus from Lake Panguipulli. We conclude that D. diabolicus is probably the primary intermediate host of D. latum because it is the most widespread copepod in southern Chile.

Black flies transmit bacteria, nematodes, protozoa, and viruses to birds and mammals, but are poorly studied as vectors of these agents, relative to other biting flies. Using the polymerase chain reaction, we screened 133 wild-caught female black flies of 18 species for Coxiella burnetii, Leucocytozoon spp., Trypanosoma spp., and Wolbachia spp. of filarial nematodes. We detected DNA of Trypanosoma avium in Metacnephia lyra and Simulium vernum from Finland. Further research is needed to determine the vectorial capacity of M. lyra and S. vernum in the transmission of T. avium to birds. We did not detect DNA of other agents.

The common toad, Bufo bufo, from Trabzon Province, Turkey, was found to harbor 5 species of Nematoda: Aplectana acuminata, Aplectana macintoshii, Cosmocerca ornata, Oswaldocruzia filiformis, and Rhabdias bufonis, and 1 species of Acanthocephala, Acanthocephalus ranae. With the exception of Rhabdias bufonis, all represent new host records for Bufo bufo in Turkey.

Eight adult longnose leopard lizards, Gambelia wislizenii, previously deposited in the Angelo State Natural History Collection (ASNHC) and collected between 1964 and 1969, were examined for helminth parasites. These lizards came from locales in Cochise County, Arizona (n = 1), San Bernardino County, California (n = 2), Mesa County, Colorado (n = 1), and Winkler County, Texas (n = 4). Five of the 8 ASNHC lizards (62.5%) were infected with 1 of 3 species of nematodes or an acanthocephalan, including 1 (12.5%) with larval Porrocaecum sp., 2 (25%) with Cyrtosomum penneri, 1 (12.5%) with Skrjabinoptera phrynosoma, and 1 (12.5%) with oligacanthorynchid acanthocephalan cystacanths. New helminth records for this host are documented for Porrocaecum sp. and the oligacanthorhynchid acanthocephalan cystacanth.