Family Rhopaliidae Looss, 1899

Members of the family Rhopaliidae Looss, 1899 include digenetic trematodes that are parasites of marsupials in the Nearctic and Neotropical regions. These forms are characterized by having two anteriorly directed proboscides armed with spines and situated bilaterally relative to the oral sucker. The family was first established by Looss (1899) as the Rhopaliadae. Braun (1901b) incorrectly spelled the subfamily name as Rhopaliadinae. These trematodes were further studied and redescribed by Fuhrmann (1928) and Bresslau (1932), while Pratt (1902) appears to have been the first to consider the group to be related to the schinostomes. Viana (1924) emended the spelling of the family name to Rhopaliidae, which Skrjabin (1948c) considered a synonym of the Rhopaliadae. The spelling Rhopaliasidae was used by Yamaguti (1958). Travassos et al. (1969) established the subfamily Rhopaliasinae, and Yamaguti (1971) synonymized the Rhopaliasidae with the Rhopaliidae. The name Rhopalias was established by Stiles & Hassall (1898) to replace Rhopalophorus Diesing, 1850, which was pre-occupied by Ropalophorus Westwood, 1840 (Hymenoptera), with Distomum coronation Rudolphi, 1819 as the type-species. Rhopalophorus is synonymous with Rhopalias Stiles & Hassall, 1898. Lutz (1895) used the name Rhopalocephalus, without citing a taxon authority, in conjunction with the species names R. coronatus (Rudolphi, 1819) and R. horridus (Diesing, 1850). Stiles & Hassall (1898) did not mention Rhopalocephalus and, presumably, were unaware of it. It does not appear to have been used by other authors. Although Rhopalocephala is the older name, Rhopalias is well established in the literature and we intend to petition the ICZN to declare Rhopalocepbalus a nomen oblitum. The primary distinguishing morphological character of Rhopalias is the possession of a pair of proboscides, armed with chitinous spines, which can be invaginated into a muscular pouch. The pouches open to the exterior on each side of the oral sucker. They are about 0.3 mm long, with protrusor and retractor muscle fibres. The number and arrangement of spines on the proboscides are diagnostic at species level. Among the species, the proboscides range from fairly short \u3c0.26 mm) with 7-8 spines, in R. baculiler Braun, 1900, medium in length \u3c0.32 mm) with many spines, in R. horridus (Diesing, 1850), or medium with ten spines in a dorsal and a ventral group of five spines each, in R. macracantbus Chandler, 1932 or, finally, very long \u3c1.3mm) with ten spines each in R. coronatus (Rudolphi, 1819)

The identification and characteristics of \u3ci\u3eEchinoparyphium rubrum\u3c/i\u3e (Cort, 1914) comb. new (Trematoda, Echinostomatidae) based on experimental evidence of the life cycle

The life cycle of Echinoparyphium rubrum (Cort, 1914) comb. n. has been completed experimentally. All of the developmental stages - egg, miracidium, sporocyst, mother and daughter rediae, cercaria, metacercaria, and adult - were examined and described. The miracidia infected freshwater snails of the genus Physa, P. gyrina and P. occidentalis. Attempts to infect snails of the genera Lymnaea, L. auricularis, L. peregra. L. truncatula and Bulinus, B. truncatus failed. Cercariae infected various pulmonate and prosobranch freshwater snails, mussels, frogs, water turtles and planarians. The adults developed in the small intestine of birds and mammals. The identity and major characteristics of Echinoparyphium rub rum are discussed. Synonyms of E. rubrum are Cercaria rubra Cort, 1914; Cercaria biflexa Faust, 1917; Cercaria chisolenata Faust, 1918; Echinostoma callawayensis Barker et Noll, 1915; Echinostoma revolutum of Johnson (1920); Echinoparyphium elegans of Cannon (1938), of Bain and Trelfall (1977), of Mahoney and Trelfall (1977); and Echinoparyphium recurvatum of Jilek (1977), Harley (1972), Sankurathri and Holmes (1976). Comparisons are made between E. rubrum and its 43-collar-spined allies: E. flexwn from North America, E. cinctum from Europe, E. dunni from Asia and E. elegans from Africa

A SURVEY OF INFECTIOUS DISEASES AND PARASITES IN WILD TURKEYS FROM NEBRASKA

During the 1997-98 fall hunting season, samples from 154 Wild Turkeys were donated by hunters to the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission (NGPC) Genetic and Forensic Laboratory. Assistance was provided by the Veterinary Diagnostic Center, and the Harold W. Manter Laboratory of Parasitology, University of Nebraska, Lincoln, for this survey of infectious diseases and internal parasites. One hundred and thirteen sinus swabs were cultured for pathogenic bacteria, and fecal samples were examined for parasite ova and protozoa. One hundred and six gastrointestinal samples were examined for helminth parasites. Intestinal coccidiosis was present in 42 birds. Salmonella was isolated from fecal samples from four birds. Mycobacterium avium (avian tuberculosis) infection was suspected in one bird. No evidence of Pasteurella multocida (fowl cholera) or Histomonas meleagridis (blackhead) were seen. Thirty-three species of helminth parasites belonging to 4 taxa were identified: 13 species of Cestoda, 12 species of Nematoda, 7 species of Trematoda, and 1 species of Acanthocephala. Four helminths, not previously documented in North American Wild Turkeys, but known to exist in Europe, were identified in these birds