Leszek Rolbiecki

A new species of Demodex (Acari: Demodecidae) with data on topical specificity and topography of demodectic mites in the striped field mouse Apodemus agrarius (Rodentia: Muridae).

ABSTRACT This article describes morphological characteristics and the occurrence of Demodex gracilentus sp. nov., which was found in the striped field mouse Apodemus agrarius (Pallas, 1771) in the skin of vibrissae area. D. gracilentus occurred in 36.7% of the rodents examined. D. gracilentus is a relatively large representative of the genus (adult stages on average 292 µm in length), a slender, elongated body; characteristic feature of these mites are conical supracoxal spines on dorsal side of gnathosoma, palps with asymmetric, forked triple spines on palptarsus, and the presence of rhomboidal opisthosomal organ. So far, the occurrence of three specific representatives of the family Demodecidae has been demonstrated in A. agrarius: Demodex apodemi (Hirst, 1918) (=Demodex arvicolae apodemi Hirst, 1918), Demodex agrarii Bukva, 1994, and Demodex huttereri Mertens, Lukoschus et Nutting, 1983. The first one is related to common hair follicles, especially in the skin of the head, while the next one inhabits the external auditory meatus, and the last one occurs in the meibomian glands of the eyelids.

New Species of Demodex (Acari: Demodecidae) With Data on Parasitism and Occurrence of Other Demodecids of Rattus norvegicus (Rodentia: Muridae)

ABSTRACT This article describes the morphological features and occurrence of Demodex ponderosus n. sp. on brown rats, Rattus norvegicus (Berkenhout), in Poland. D. ponderosus n. sp. is a small demodecid, adults average 152 µm in length, and are oval in shape. They were found in the skin of nearly hairless regions, tail and paws, of rats. Adult mites exhibit sexual dimorphism in terms of body size and proportions. The study also compared the features of the new species with those of the four species of Demodex described previously from this host. Demodex spp. were observed in 100% of the rats examined; however, despite high infestation levels, no symptoms of parasitosis were observed in the hosts.

Demodex auricularis sp. nov. (Acari: Demodecidae) from the ear canal of the European wood mouse Apodemus sylvaticus (Rodentia: Muridae)

Demodex auricularis sp. nov. is described from the European wood mouse Apodemus sylvaticus Linnaeus, 1758 (Rodentia: Muridae) from Poland. Demodex auricularis sp. nov. is a medium-sized demodecid mite (adult stages average 214 µm in length) observed entirely in the ear canal of mice. One already identified species of analogical microhabitat is Demodex agrarii Bukva, 1994 from the ear canals of the striped field mouse Apodemus agrarius (Pallas, 1771). Demodex auricularis sp. nov. is most similar to Demodex lacrimalis Lukoschus & Jongman, 1974, from meibomian glands of eyelids found the same host, but differs by the following features: gnathosoma is oval, short and wide; supracoxal spines (setae elc.p) are stick-like; terminal palpi are equipped with three spines; epimeral plates (coxal fields) IV are weakly sclerotized, almost invisible; the opisthosoma tapered towards end and rounded at end in females and sharp at and in males, opisthosoma poorly striped. The differences also relate to body proportions, D. auricularis sp. nov. being shorter and wider, more stocky, with shorter opisthosoma. The new species was observed in 16.7% of the rodents examined. http://zoobank.org/urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:730E0D79-4B43-44EF-A118-BC8664361AD5

Two New Species of Demodex (Acari: Demodecidae) with a Redescription of Demodex musculi and Data on Parasitism in Mus musculus (Rodentia: Muridae).

ABSTRACT This article describes two new skin mite species found on the house mouse Mus musculus L., 1758. Demodex marculus sp. nov. is a very small demodecid mite (adult stages, on average, 99 mm in length) found in mouse skin in the abdomen, back, limbs, and anal area. It is characterized by relatively large bossing hammer-shaped supracoxal spines, embedded in the trapezoidal gnathosoma. Demodex fusiformis sp. nov., in turn, is a little larger (adult stages on average 111 mm in length), with a small oval gnathosoma equipped with fine, knob-like supracoxal spines. It was found in the skin of abdomen, back, and limbs. Moreover, Demodex musculi (Oudemans, 1897) was redescribed, which is small demodecid mite (adult stages on average 142 mmin length) and characterized by relatively large morphological variation and considerable sexual dimorphism. The characteristic feature of this species is the strongly elongated and rectangular gnathosoma equipped with very large wedge-shaped supracoxal spines. D. musculi was found in the skin of various, haired regions of the mice body (head, neck, abdomen, back, limbs, genitalanal region, and tail). Moreover, one more demodecid mite was found in the skin of the examined mice, it was Demodex flagellurus Bukva, 1985, which was found only in the genital area. Overall infection of Mus musculus L. by all species of Demodex was with the prevalence of 100%, mean intensity of 24.0, and range of intensity of 1–109. Despite high infection levels, no symptoms of parasitosis were observed in the hosts.

DEMODEX LUTRAE N. SP. (ACARI) IN EUROPEAN OTTER LUTRA LUTRA (CARNIVORA: MUSTELIDAE) WITH DATA FROM OTHER DEMODECID MITES IN CARNIVORES

Abstract:  This article describes morphological characteristics and occurrence of Demodex lutrae n. sp., which was found on European otter Lutra lutra (Linnaeus, 1758) in Poland. The new species was found in hairy regions of otter skin, mainly in the head area. With respect to morphological features, D. lutrae is most similar to D. canis (Leydig, 1859) from the domestic dog Canis familiaris Linnaeus, 1758. The new species is a medium-sized demodecid mite (adult stages average 200 μm in length); characteristic features of these mites are hammer-shaped supracoxal spines (setae elc.p) on dorsal side of gnathosoma and palps with 3 conical spines. Demodex lutrae is the first representative of the family Demodecidae described in a host from the subfamily Lutrinae. This paper also contains a checklist of demodecid mites known from carnivores.

Demodex microti n. sp. (Acari: Demodecidae) in Microtus arvalis (Pallas) (Rodentia, Cricetidae) with a checklist of the demodecid mites of cricetids

Demodex microti n. sp. (Acari, Demodecidae) is described from the skin of the genital area of the common vole Microtus arvalis (Pallas) in Poland based on the morphology of the adult and immature stages. The new species appears most similar to D. cricetuli Hurley & Desch, 1994 from the gray dwarf hamster, Cricetulus migratorius (Pallas), but differs in the following features: the supracoxal spines are conical and located at the edge of the gnathosoma, the spines of the terminal segment of palp are three, single-tined, the opisthosomal organ is narrow and elongated in males and bubble-shaped in females, the vulva is located below the incision of the fourth pair of epimeral plates, eggs are oval. The differences also relate to body size and proportions, D. microti n. sp. being smaller and slender. The new species occurred in all of the rodents examined. A checklist of demodecid mites in cricetids world-wide is also provided.

Diversity of the parasite fauna of Mus musculus L. (Rodentia, Muridae) from different habitats

428 1 INTRODUCTION Species composition of a parasitic fauna of mamm mals and the level of their infection depend on a numm ber of factors, e.g., parasites biology and transmission pathways, the presence of all hosts necessary for a multiihost parasite to complete its life cycle, and bioll ogy and population density of the host in the case of a singleehost parasitic species. Basically, for an animal to become infected with a specific parasite which is transmitted during interrorganismal contacts within a host population, it is only necessary that the already infected individuals be present. The prevalence of infection is, too, usually dependent on the host popuu lation density and biology (e.g., solitary or gregarious mode of life, frequency of interrorganismal contacts) (e.g., Izdebska, 2006). In the case of parasites of a weaker host specificity, infection may be caused by hosts belonging to other species, hence the risk of infection increases in the presence of such species (a particularly high intensity of such parasitoses occurs in zoological gardens and in multiispecies cultures) (Dubinin, 1955; Lim et al., 2008). However, because of a higher life cycle complexity and the necessity for a parasite to change hosts or a habitat to complete its life cycle, the distribution range of such parasites is restricted to special ecosystems. Therefore the species composition of a parasitic fauna in a host is a net result of specificity of individual parr asitic species with respect to the host concerned and an array of complex interactions involved in the paraa sites functioning in the external environment. When the parasitic fauna consists of parasites belonging to different groups, it is very difficult to ascertain whether the presence or absence of a parasite, and a high or a low level of infection, is a result of host specificity adaptations in the parasiteehost system or if it is mainly an effect of a combination of numerous envii ronmental factors. Previous studies indicate that paraa

New data on the biology of the introduced exotic nematode Anguillicola crassus Kuwahara, Niimi et Itagaki, 1974 in the eel Anguilla anguilla in Lake Wdzydze (Polish waters)

New data on the biology of the introduced exotic nematode Anguillicola crassus Kuwahara, Niimi et Itagaki, 1974 in the eel Anguilla anguilla in Lake Wdzydze (Polish waters) Anguillicola crassus Kuwahara, Niimi et Itagaki, 1974 is an Asian parasitic nematode that was introduced to Europe and inhabits the swim bladder of eels. In the 2002-2005 period, 237 eels, Anguilla anguilla (Linnaeus, 1758), from Lake Wdzydze were examined for the occurrence of the nematode. 79.3% of the fish were infected, at a mean intensity of 7.2 nematodes per fish. Morphological measurements of the observed A. crassus are presented. This is the first published report of A. crassus in eels from Lake Wdzydze.

Helminths of the lumpsucker (Cyclopterus lumpus) from the Gulf of Gdańsk and Vistula Lagoon (Poland)

Helminths of the lumpsucker (Cyclopterus lumpus) from the Gulf of Gdańsk and Vistula Lagoon (Poland) The lumpsucker (Cyclopterus lumpus Linnaeus, 1758) is a marine fish inhabiting shallow coastal areas of North Atlantic. In 1996-2006, 224 lumpsucker individuals caught in the Gulf of Gdańsk and Vistula Lagoon (Poland) were examined for metazoan parasites. The fish were found to support the cestode Eubothrium crassum (Bloch, 1779), the nematodes Contracaecum osculatum (Rudolphi, 1802) L3, Dichelyne minutus (Rudolphi, 1819), and Hysterothylacium aduncum (Rudolphi, 1802) L3, L4, ad. as well as the acanthocephalans Corynosoma strumosum (Rudolphi, 1802) cyst., Echinorhynchus gadi Zoega in Müller, 1776, and Pomphorhynchus laevis (Müller, 1776). The total (both areas) prevalence of parasites was 63.4% at a mean intensity of 2.1 inds. In the Gulf of Gdańsk, 66.3% of all the lumpsucker examined were infected (intensity 2 inds), the level of infection in the Vistula Lagoon being 46.5% of the fish (intensity 2.3 inds). The Gulf of Gdańsk lumpsucker supported all the parasitic species listed, while 4 species only (E. crassum, H. aduncum, E. gadi, and P. laevis) were recorded in the Vistula Lagoon. The dominant parasites were H. aduncum (43.3%, 2.1 inds) and E. gadi (21.0%, 1.2 inds). All the parasitic species, except C. strumosum, are being reported from the southern Baltic lumpsucker for the first time.

A new species of the genus Demodex Owen, 1843 (Acari: Demodecidae) from the ear canals of the house mouse Mus musculus L. (Rodentia: Muridae).

A new species Demodex conicus n. sp. is described based on adult and juvenile stages from the ear canals of the house mouse Mus musculus L. in Poland. The new species is most similar to D. auricularis Izdebska, Rolbiecki & Fryderyk, 2014 from the ear canals of the wood mouse Apodemus sylvaticus (L.), but differs in the following features: the gnathosoma is triangular, the supracoxal spines (setae elc.p) are conical, the spines on the terminal segment of palp are four, the striation on opisthosoma is fine but dense, the vulva is located at a distance of c.17 µm from posterior level of legs IV, and the male genital opening is located at the level of legs I. The differences also relate to body size and proportions, female D. conicus n. sp. being, on average slightly larger, and male significantly larger than D. auricularis. Males of the new species also have longer and more massive opisthosoma than males of D. auricularis. Demodex conicus n. sp. was found in 17.5% of the mice studied from different locations in Poland.