Contracaecumovale (Nematoda: Anisakidae) from Rollandia rolland Quoy & Gaimard 1824 (Aves, Podicipedidae) in Argentina

Gastrointestinal helminth parasites of the threatened Australasian crested grebe (Podiceps cristatus australis, Gould 1844) in New Zealand, with descriptions of Baruscapillaria kamanae n. sp. (Nematoda: Trichuridae) and Cryptocotyle micromorpha n. sp. (Trematoda: Opisthorchiidae)

The Australasian crested grebe Podiceps cristatus australis, Gould 1844 is restricted to Australia and New Zealand, where it is listed as Threatened and Nationally Vulnerable. For the first time in New Zealand, we report on the parasitic helminths infecting three individuals from Lake Wanaka, Otago, using morphological and molecular tools. Seven helminth species were found in the gastrointestinal tract: 2 nematodes (Contracaecum ovale and Baruscapillaria kamanaen. sp.), 4 trematodes (Australapatemon minor, Cryptocotyle micromorphan. sp., Tylodelphys darbyi and Neopetasiger neocomensis), and 1 cestode (Confluaria pseudofurcifera). Except for T. darbyi, all are new records for New Zealand. A change of orthography is proposed for Neopetasiger neocomensis and N. pseudoneocomensis. Cryptocotyle micromorphan. sp. (Opisthorchiidae) is distinguished from similar species by its small size, wholly extracaecal vitellaria and anteriorly looped uterus. Baruscapillaria kamanaen. sp. (Trichuridae) is distinguished from other freshwater species by a combination of vulva and spicule morphology. The helminth parasites found here are mostly the same as those from the grebe in the northern hemisphere, indicating that they have been carried with the host species in its spread to Australasia. However, the parasite fauna may be depauperate due to a diminishing reservoir of intermediate hosts in that geographical migration.

Further studies on Contracaecum spasskii Mozgovoi, 1950 and C. rudolphii Hartwich, 1964 (sensu lato) (Ascaridida: Anisakidae) from piscivorous birds in China

Contracaecum spasskii Mozgovoi, 1950, collected from the great crested grebe Podiceps cristatus (Linnaeus) (Podicipediformes: Podicipedidae), is redescribed using both light and, for the first time, scanning electron microscopy. Contracaecum spasskii differs from its congeners by having marked transverse cuticular annulations, the length of the oesophagus and spicules, the ratio between the intestinal caecum and the ventricular appendix, the number and arrangement of male caudal papillae, and especially by the particular morphology of the lips and interlabia. Some previously unreported morphological features of C. spasskii are also revealed and others corrected. Contracaecum rudolphii Hartwich, 1964 (sensu lato) is also redescribed based on the specimens collected from the great cormorant Phalacrocorax carbo sinensis (Blumenbach) (Pelecaniformes: Phalacrocoracidae) from China. Based on the geographical perspective, the present Chinese material may represent the species C. rudolphii B.