Abstract
Adult trematodes of the genus Stegodexamene Macfarlane, 1951 were recorded from the intestines of two species of freshwater eels, the Pacific short-finned eel Anguilla obscura Günther and the speckled longfin eel Anguilla reinhardtii Steindachner from the Pouembout and La Foa Rivers, New Caledonia, South Pacific. They were identified as Stegodexamene anguillae Macfarlane, 1951, a species previously reported only from eels in New Zealand. The morphology of adult S. anguillae seems to be practically identical with that of the later described Stegodexamene callista Watson 1984 from eels in Australia. The finding of S. anguillae in A. obscura and A. reinhardtii in New Caledonia represents new geographical and host records. In addition to this trematode, two larval specimens of a cestode of the order Proteocephalidea were found in the intestine of one A. obscura from the Pouembout River. No monogenean was found in eels of New Caledonia.
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Acknowledgements
Yann Pellequer (Direction du Développement Économique et de l’Environnement, Province Nord, Poindimié, New Caledonia) kindly provided the eels from Pouembout and Ponérihouen. Dr. Christine Pöllabauer (Erbio, Nouméa, New Caledonia) kindly organized two electrofishing expeditions to the La Foa and Dumbéa Rivers and is thanked for her collaboration, fish identification, and fruitful discussions. Julie Mounier, Anaïs Guérin, Audrey Guillou, Charles Beaufrère, and Eric Bureau, students, participated in the fishing expeditions and parasitological surveys. Angelo Di Matteo (IRD, Nouméa) is thanked for technical help. Thanks are also due to Irena Husáková from the Institute of Parasitology, Biology Centre, ASCR in České Budějovice for her technical assistance and help with the preparation of illustrations. This study was partly supported by grant no. 524/06/0170 from the Grant Agency of the Czech Republic and by the research projects of the Institute of Parasitology, ASCR (Z60220518 and LC522).
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Moravec, F., Justine, JL. Stegodexamene anguillae (Digenea: Lepocreadiidae), an intestinal parasite of eels (Anguilla spp.) in New Caledonia. Parasitol Res 100, 1047–1051 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00436-006-0386-6
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00436-006-0386-6