TREMATODA OF THE GULF OF MEXICO 



By Harold W. Manter, University of Nebraska 



Trematodcp of the Gulf of Mexico have been 

 studied chiefly at the former Biological Laboratory 

 of the Carnegie Institution at Dry Tortugas, 

 Florida. The rich fauna there of fishes, mollusks, 

 and Crustacea would suggest a great variety and 

 abundance of these parasites, and such has been 

 proved to be the case. Early in the history of the 

 Laboratory, Linton (1910) and Pratt (1910-16) 

 described species of trematodes from Tortugas. 

 Linton's work in particular indicated the unusual 

 variety of trematode species occurring within 

 fishes there. Later, Miller (1925-29) studied 

 larval stages (cercariae) of trematodes from 

 mollusks; McCoy (1929, 1930) studied the life 

 cycles of two species; and the author (Manter, 

 1930-49) made extensive taxonomic studies of his 

 collections at Tortugas during 1930-32. As a 

 result, the trematodes of fishes, both surface water 

 species and species down to a depth of about 500 

 fathoms, are relatively well known. Little study 

 has been made of these parasites elsewhere in the 

 Gulf. Vigucras (1935, 1940) has reported a few 

 species from Cuba; while Chandler (1935), Von 

 Wicklen (1946), and Read (1947) described several 

 species from Galveston Bay. Faust and Tang 

 (1936) described one species from Biloxi Bay, 

 Mississippi. 



I am indebted to Dr. Luis R. Rivas for checking 

 and correcting the scientific names of the fish 

 hosts and also for suggestions for the common 

 names of these fishes. 



MONOGENEA 



The following species of Monogenea have been 

 reported from the gills of fishes at Key West or 

 Tortugas: 



1. Cyclocotyla neomaenis (MacCallum, 1917) Price, 



1943. 

 Host: Lutjanus analis. Gray snapper. 

 Reported by MacCallum (1917). 



2. Cyclocotyla hysleroncha Fujii, 1944. 



Hosts: Balhystoma striatum; Brachygenys 

 chrysargyreus; Haemulon flavolineatum, 

 French grunt. 



Reported by Fujii (1944). 



3. Hexastoma macracanthum Fujii, 1944. 



Host: EuthynitUK alletteratuf!, Little tuna. 

 Reported by Fujii (1944). 



4. Heterocotyle floridana (Pratt, 1910) Price, 1938. 



Host: Aetobatus freminvillii, Stingaree. 

 Reported by Pratt (1910). 



5. Udonella caligorum Johnston, 1835. 



Host: On a copepod on gills of Lutjanus 



griseus, Gray snapper. 

 Reported by Linton (1910). 



6. Protomicrocotyle mirabile (MacCallum, 1918) 



Johnston and Tiegs, 1922. 



Host: Caranx latus, Horse-eye jack. 



New record. MacCallum described the spe- 

 cies from Caranx hippon, Jack crevalle, 

 from the New York Aquarium. 



The following four species have been reported 

 from other parts of the Gulf region: 



7. Capsala poeyi (Vigueras, 1935) Price, 1938. 



Host: Skin of Makaira ampla, Blue marlin, 



from Havana, Cuba. 

 Reported by Vigueras (1935). 



8. Encotyllabe monticelli Vigueras, 1940. 



Host: Calamus bajonado, Jolt-head porgy, 



from north coast of Cuba. 

 Reported by Vigueras (1940). 



9. Enlobdella squamula (Heath, 1902) Johnston, 



1929. 

 Host: Undetermined fish "presumably from 



Gulf of Mexico." 

 Reported by Price (1939). 



10. Neoheterobothrium affine (Linton, 1898) Price, 



1939. 

 Host: Paralichthys sp., Flounder, from Grand 



Isle, La. 

 Reported by Melugin (1940). This species 



is known from two species of Paralichthys 



at Woods Hole, Mass. 



This small number of species of Monogenea 

 reported does not mean they are uncommon para- 

 sites, but rather that they have not been collected 

 and studied. I have a number of species still in- 

 completely studied collected from fishes at Tortu- 

 gas. Most of them are undescribed species. 



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