Some helminth parasites of Fishes of Bermuda and an account of the attachment organ ofAlcicornis carangisMacCallum, 1917 (Digenea: Bucephalidae)

Abstract

SUMMARYOf 414 Bermuda fishes, 148 belonging to 13 species harboured Digenea and 11 belonging to 6 species Aspidogastrea, Acanthocephala or nematodes. In a previous paper 69 of these fishes belonging to 20 species were found to contain cestodes. The number of infected species was greatest in the case of cestodes and the number of infected individuals in the case of Digenea. The latter is probably due to the closer proximity, for reasonably long periods, of the various hosts in the life-cycles. Of the 17 species of Digenea 3 are new host records, 3 new locality records and 4 new host and new locality records. New records were found, also, in the other groups of helminths. The digenean fauna of Bermuda fishes most closely resembles that of Dry Tortugas, Florida. Digenea and cestodes were not usually found in the same families of fishes. Cestode larvae were abundant in the deep-water Serranidae and Lutianidae which had no Digenea, the latter being common in Clupeidae, Hae-mulidae and Belonidae, which do not harbour cestodes and which occur, mostly, in the inner reefs and shallows.The functional morphology of the apical disk, tentacles and rhynchus ofAlcicornis carangisis described. The tentacles are invaginable and concerned with attachment.I am most grateful to Dr W. H. Sutcliffe Jun., Director of the Bermuda Biological Station, for the excellent facilities provided and to The Shell Grants Committee and The National Science Foundation for grants which made the work possible. I would also like to express my gratitude to all those who kindly helped in the capture of fishes and to Mrs M. Fisher for technical assistance.