Host records and geographical distribution of Corynosoma magdaleni, C. semerme and C. strumosum (Acanthocephala: Polymorphidae).

A literature survey was conducted to investigate the host and geographical distribution patterns of three Corynosoma species (Acanthocephala: Polymorphidae), viz. C. magdaleni, C. semerme and C. strumosum. All three species appear to be restricted to the Northern Hemisphere. Occurrence records of C. magdaleni are limited to the Northern Atlantic coasts, while C. semerme has a circumpolar distribution. The geographical range of Corynosoma strumosum encompasses the distributions of the other two species, but also extends into warmer southern regions. Some Corynosoma populations are living with their definitive hosts in very isolated locations, such as in the brackish Baltic Sea or different freshwater lakes (e.g. Lake Saimaa). All three species have a heteroxenous life cycle, comprising a peracaridan intermediate host, a fish paratenic host and a mammalian definitive host. Occasionally, an acanthocephalan may enter an accidental host, from which it is unable to complete its life cycle. The host records reported here are categorised by type, i.e. intermediate, paratenic, definitive or accidental. While most of the definitive hosts are shared amongst the three Corynosoma species, C. strumosum showed the broadest range of paratenic hosts, which reflects its more extensive geographical distribution. One aim of this study and extensive literature summary is to guide future sampling efforts and therewith contribute to throw more light on the on-going species and morphotype discussion for this interesting parasite species.

Description of Cribronema sturhani sp. n. (Nematoda, Rhabditida, Cephalobidae), a second species of a rare genus from Cameroon.

Specimens of a population of Cribronema collected in Cameroon are described as Cribronema sturhani sp. n. The new species resembles C. cribrum, which is the only species described in the genus, but it differs from it by the following features: a somewhat shorter tail in the females, longer spermatheca and postuterine vulval sac, tail terminus in females pointed vs. harpoon-shaped, and presence vs. absence of males.

Descriptions of species of Acrobeles von Linstow, 1877 (Nematoda, Rhabditida, Cephalobidae) from Kelso Dunes, Mojave National Preserve, California, USA.

Populations of three rare species of the genus Acrobeles are described from the Kelso Dunes area, Mojave National Preserve, southern California. One population is identified as belonging to A. undulatus and is compared with the type population from Venezuela and one population from Iran. Males of this species are described for the first time. Another population identified as belonging to A. ornatus is compared with the type population from Colorado, USA. Specimens identified as belonging to A. dimorphus are compared with the type population from Namibia. Descriptions of the new material add morphological data important for species identification, broaden the diagnosis of Acrobeles and increase the distribution patterns of these three species.

The genus Metaporcelaimus Lordello, 1965 (Nematoda, Dorylaimida, Aporcelaimidae) in Ukraine. Description of one new and one known species with granulate egg shell.

Two Metaporcelaimus species, one new and one known, are described from Ukraine. Metaporcelaimus petrophilus sp. n. is characterized by its 1.30-1.58 mm long body, lip region offset by deep constriction and 16-18 µm broad, odontostyle 15-17 µm long, neck 360-413 µm long, pharyngeal expansion occupying 47-54% of total neck length, uterus simple and 83-125 µm long or 1.6-2.7 times the corresponding body diameter, uterine eggs with granulate shell, V = 51-55%, tail conical (35-40 µm, c = 33-42, c' = 1.4-1.8 in females), spicules 43-50 µm long, and 9-13 spaced ventromedian supplements with hiatus. New data, including the first description of male specimens and SEM study, are provided for M. ovogranulosus, the Ukrainian populations of which are nearly identical to the type population from California.

Description of Drilocephalobus moldavicus Lisetskaya, 1968 (Rhabditida: Osstellidae) from Kelso Dunes, Mojave National Preserve, California, USA.

Specimens of Drilocephalobus moldavicus are described from the Kelso Dunes area, Mojave National Preserve, southern California. This is the first record of the genus in North America. The specimens of this population are characterized by a body length of 322-417 µm in females and 403 µm in the male; cuticle finely annulated; lateral field with five incisures, extending to phasmid and two incisures extending almost to tail terminus in both sexes; lip region helmet-shaped, offset from body contour; lips amalgamated; stoma with thin walls lacking sclerotizations; pharynx without distinct divisions, cylindrical, widening slightly at about 1/3 of its length and basally, without valves; spermatheca 14-19 µm long; postvulval uterine sac 25-27 µm long; spicules 23 µm long; and female tail conoid-elongate with rounded terminus.

The Swedish marine nematologist Carl Allgén (1886-1960): a bio-bibliography and his collection.

The Swedish marine nematologist Carl Allgén (1886-1960) published 185 scientific papers on parasitic, terrestrial, limnic and especially marine nematodes between 1921 and 1960. Among them are also some papers on species of suctorians found mostly on desmodorid nematodes. He described about 70 new genera and over 800 new species and subspecies of nematodes. Allgén left a large collection of nematodes to the Swedish Museum of Natural History in Stockholm and it is now deposited in the invertebrate collection of the Zoology department. The collection comprises about 4500 slides in total, with about 310 slides containing type specimens collected from the Arctic to Antarctica. Allgén's publications have to a large extent been ignored by scientists working on marine nematodes, likely because of the poor quality of many of his species descriptions. The authors want to remind the scientific community about the existence of Allgén's collection, its availability for study and its importance for nematode taxonomy and systematics. A complete list of Allgén's publications, a list of all species described by him, and a list of type material available is presented.

Alloionema similis n. sp., a genetically divergent sibling species of A. appendiculatum Schneider, 1859 (Rhabditida: Alloionematidae) from invasive slugs in California, USA.

A new species of Alloionema Schneider, 1859, A. similis n. sp., and the known species A. appendiculatum Schneider, 1859 were isolated from cadavers of invasive slugs in California. Both species are described based on morphology, morphometrics and molecular data. Alloionema similis n. sp. is morphologically very similar to A. appendiculatum but can be distinguished by a more posterior position of the excretory pore in the Kleinform females and longer tail in the Kleinform males. Substantial differences between the two species are, however, found in both 18S and 28S rDNA sequences. Sequence analysis revealed unambiguous autapomorphies in nucleotide sequence and secondary structure of rRNA genes, separating A. appendiculatum and A. similis n. sp. Molecular phylogenies were inferred from concatenated secondary-structure based multiple sequence alignments of nearly complete 18S and the D1-D3 domains of the 28S rRNA genes. Phylogenetic analyses placed these two species as sister taxa in a monophyletic clade, separately from Neoalloionema tricaudatum Ivanova, Pham Van Luc & Spiridonov, 2016 and N. indicum Nermut, Puza & Mrácek, 2016.

Swedish Plectida (Nematoda). Part 10. The genus Deontolaimus de Man, 1880.

The genus Deontolaimus de Man, 1880 is revised and the genus Camacolaimus de Man, 1889 is considered a junior synonym of Deontolaimus based on re-examination of type material of Camacolaimus tardus de Man, 1889 and C. barbatus Warwick, 1970. Two known and three new species of Deontolaimus are described from bottom sediments collected in marine habitats of Sweden: Deontolaimus uniformis (Cobb, 1920) comb. n., D. longicauda (de Man, 1922) comb. n., Deontolaimus catalinae sp. n., D. paraguillei sp. n. and Deontolaimus timmi sp. n. Deontolaimus catalinae sp. n. is characterized by body length of 1.3-1.7 mm; anterior-most somatic sensilla located short distance posterior to amphid; cephalic sensilla equal to 0.2 labial region diameter in length; amphidial fovea ventrally-unispiral with one turn, located in front of cephalic sensilla bases; excretory pore located short distance posterior to onchiostyle base; onchiostyle with bluntly rounded tip and subcylindrical body; male with alveolar supplements extending from anterior end to middle of body, tubular supplements absent; spicules 36-40 µm long; and didelphic female reproductive system. Deontolaimus paraguillei sp. n. is characterized by body length of 1.4-1.8 mm; anterior-most somatic sensilla located at level with onchiostyle; cephalic sensilla equal to 0.2-0.3 labial region diameter in length; amphidial fovea ventrally-unispiral with one turn, located at level with cephalic sensilla bases; excretory pore located just posterior to nerve ring level; onchiostyle with bluntly rounded tip and subcylindrical body; male with alveolar supplements extending from anterior end to about three body diameters in front of cloaca, tubular supplements absent; spicules 42-46 µm long; and didelphic female reproductive system. Deontolaimus timmi sp. n. is characterized by body length of 0.7-0.9 mm; anterior-most somatic sensilla located at level with onchiostyle; cephalic sensilla equal to 0.2-0.3 labial region diameter in length; amphidial fovea ventrally-unispiral with one turn, located just in front of cephalic sensilla bases; excretory pore located just posterior to nerve ring level; onchiostyle with triangular tip with bluntly rounded apex and strongly sclerotized dorsal edge, and subcylindrical body; male with alveolar supplements extending from anterior end to anterior part of intestine, tubular supplements absent; spicules 28 µm long; and didelphic female reproductive system. The following nomenclatorial changes are proposed: genera Acontiolaimus Filipjev, 1918, Camacolaimoides De Coninck & Schuurmans Stekhoven, 1933, Camacolaimus de Man, 1889, Digitonchus Cobb, 1920 and Ypsilon Cobb, 1920 are synonimized with the genus Deontolaimus de Man, 1880; Camacolaimus reykjanesi De Coninck, 1943 and Camacolaimus glauxicola Allgén, 1951a are considered junior synonyms of Deontolaimus papillatus de Man, 1880; Camacolaimus barbatus apud Pastor de Ward, 1984 is described as the separate species Deontolaimus catalinae sp. n.; Camacolaimus tardus apud Lorenzen, 1969 is considered to be the separate species Deontolaimus lorenzeni nom. n.; Camacolaimus tardus apud Timm, 1963 is described as the separate species Deontolaimus timmi sp. n.; Camacolaimus barbatus Warwick, 1970 is considered a junior synonym of Deontolaimus tardus (de Man, 1889) comb. n.; Camacolaimus parvus Timm, 1961 is transferred to the genus Deontolaimus as D. parvus (Timm, 1961) comb. n.; Digitonchus cylindricaudatus Chitwood, 1951 is transferred to the genus Deontolaimus as D. cylindricaudatus (Chitwood, 1951) comb. n.; Ypsilon exile Cobb, 1920 is transferred to the genus Deontolaimus as D. exilis (Cobb, 1920) comb. n.; Camacolaimus guillei de Bovee, 1977 is transferred to the genus Deontolaimus as D. guillei (de Bovee, 1977) comb. n.; Camacolaimus longicauda de Man, 1922 is transferred to the genus Deontolaimus as D. longicauda (de Man, 1922) comb. n.; Camacolaimus monhystera Gerlach, 1967 is transferred to the genus Deontolaimus as D. monhystera (Gerlach, 1967) comb. n.; Camacolaimus pontollittoralis Uzunov, 1977 is transferred to the genus Deontolaimus as D. pontollittoralis (Uzunov, 1977) comb. n.; Camacolaimus praedator de Man, 1922 is transferred to the genus Deontolaimus as D. praedator (de Man, 1922) comb. n.; Camacolaimus prytherchi Chitwood, 1935 is transferred to the genus Deontolaimus as D. prytherchi (Chitwood, 1935) comb. n.; Camacolaimus tardus de Man, 1889 is transferred to the genus Deontolaimus as D. tardus (de Man, 1889) comb. n.; Camacolaimus trituberculatus Blome, 1982 is transferred to the genus Deontolaimus as D. trituberculatus (Blome, 1982) comb. n.; and Digitonchus uniformis Cobb, 1920 is transferred to the genus Deontolaimus as D. uniformis (Cobb, 1920) comb. n. A taxonomic review and identification key for species of the genus Deontolaimus are also given.

Swedish Plectida (Nematoda). Part 6. Neocamacolaimus parasiticus gen. n., sp. n.

A new genus Neocamacolaimus gen. n., with one new species N. parasiticus gen. n., sp. n. is described from the benthic polychaete Sphaerosyllis cf. hystrix collected in the Skagerrak off the west coast of Sweden. Neocamacolaimus gen. n. is placed in the family Camacolaimidae and is particularly characterised by having annulated cuticle with lateral alae; setiform cephalic sensilla located at level with amphids; amphidial fovea ventrally spiral; buccal cavity without armament; pharynx muscular; nerve ring located at base of pharynx; male reproductive system diorchic with outstretched testes; spicules weakly arcuate with straight manubrium; gubernaculum absent; alveolar supplements located in the pharyngeal region; tubular supplements absent; tail conoid; caudal glands and spinneret present. Juveniles of this genus are particularly characterised by their parasitic lifestyle and the following unique morphological features: lips form a dorso-ventrally elongated perioral disc with internal sclerotizations: one midventral and two dorsosublateral (right and left); cephalic sensilla setiform, subventral sensilla are noticeably longer than the subdorsal ones; intestine extends posterior to rectum and anal opening, forming a post-anal pouch.

Swedish Plectida (Nematoda). Part 5. Rhadinema timmi (Vitiello, 1971) comb. n.

Leptolaimus timmi Vitiello, 1971 is redescribed from bottom sediments collected in the Skagerrak off the west coast of Sweden. New morphological data necessitate the transfer of this species to the genus Rhadinema Cobb, 1920. The main diagnostic characters of Rhadinema timmi (Vitiello, 1971) comb. n. include: 1.3-1.8 mm long body; rounded labial region weakly offset from body contour; cephalic setae 2-4 µm long; amphid located 12-19 µm from anterior end; first body pore located 22-30 µm from anterior end; lateral field absent; stoma tubular: cheilostom with six weakly cuticularised longitudinal rugae, gymnostom with sclerotized bar-shaped rhabdia, stegostom long, tubular; female without supplements, vagina without pars refringens, vulva midventral; male with 10-11 tubular and without alveolar supplements; spicules arcuate and 21-30 µm long.

Swedish Plectida (Nematoda). Part 4. The genus Leptolaimus de Man, 1876.

Twelve known and nine new species of Leptolaimus are described from bottom sediments collected in marine habitats of Sweden, including the Bothnian Sea and Bothnian Bay, the Baltic Sea proper, Gullmarn Fjord and the Skagerrak. Three of these species have been previously recorded in Sweden while nine are new records for the Swedish fauna. The following known species are redescribed: Leptolaimus papilliger de Man, 1876, L. cupulatus Lorenzen, 1972, L. danicus Jensen, 1978, L. donsi (Allgén, 1946) comb. n., L. mixtus Lorenzen, 1972, L. pellucidus (Southern, 1914) comb. n., L. venustus Lorenzen, 1972, L. lorenzeni (Boucher & de Bovée, 1972) comb. n., L. alatus Vitiello, 1971, L. macer Lorenzen, 1972, L. septempapillatus Platt, 1973, L. elegans (Schuurmans Stekhoven & De Coninck, 1933) Gerlach, 1958. Leptolaimus primus sp. n. is characterised by the 319-472 µm long body; rounded labial region continuous with body contour; cephalic setae 1.5-2.0 µm long; amphid located 7.0-11.5 µm from anterior end; first body pore located 18.5-28.0 µm from anterior end; lateral field originating 35 µm from anterior end; female without supplements, vagina without pars refringens, vulva midventral; male without tubular and with four alveolar supplements, alveolar supplements without sclerotized inner ring; spicules arcuate and 13.5-16.0 µm long. Leptolaimus secundus sp. n. is characterised by the 576-645 µm long body; rounded labial region continuous with body contour; cephalic setae 2.0 µm long; amphid located 6.5-7.0 µm from anterior end; first body pore located 23.0-28.5 µm from anterior end; lateral field originating 18.0-23.0 µm from anterior end; female without supplements, vagina without pars refringens, vulva midventral; male with single tubular and 9-15 alveolar supplements, tubular supplement weakly arcuate with blunt tips, alveolar supplements with sclerotized lining; spicules arcuate and 23.0-26.5 µm long. Leptolaimus tertius sp. n. is characterised by the 576-579 µm long body; rounded labial region continuous with body contour; cephalic setae 2 µm long; amphid located 4-5 µm from anterior end; first body pore located 21.0-23.5 µm from anterior end; lateral field originating 26-29 µm from anterior end; male with four tubular and 7-10 alveolar supplements, tubular supplements weakly arcuate with blunt tips, alveolar supplements with sclerotized inner ring; spicules arcuate and 25-26 µm long. Leptolaimus quartus sp. n. is characterised by the 597-686 mm long body; rounded labial region continuous with body contour; cephalic setae 2.0-3.5 µm long; amphid located 5.0-7.0 µm from anterior end; first body pore located 23.5-27.0 µm from anterior end; lateral field originating 19.0-27.0 µm from anterior end; male with three tubular and 8-9 alveolar supplements, tubular supplements straight with blunt expanded tips, alveolar supplements with sclerotized inner ring; spicules arcuate and 23.0-25.0 µm long. Leptolaimus quintus sp. n. is characterised by the 443-528 µm long body; rounded labial region continuous with body contour; cephalic setae 1.0-2.0 µm long; amphid located 7.0-10.0 µm from anterior end; first body pore located 18.0-28.5 µm from anterior end; lateral field originating 25.0-41.0 µm from anterior end; female with two tubular supplements (one just posterior to cardia and one in front of anus), vagina without pars refringens, vulva right-sublateral; male with 8-10 tubular and without alveolar supplements, tubular supplements weakly arcuate with anchor-like tips; spicules arcuate and 17.0-22.0 µm long. Leptolaimus sextus sp. n. is characterised by the 626-728 µm long body; truncated labial region offset from body contour; cephalic setae 1.5-2.0 µm long; amphid located 8.0-12.0 µm from anterior end; first body pore located 41.0-48.5 µm from anterior end; lateral field originating 28.0-41.0 µm from anterior end; female without supplements, vagina without pars refringens, vulva midventral; male with five (rarely six) tubular and without alveolar supplements, tubular supplements weakly S-shaped with bifid tips; spicules arcuate and 39.0-46.0 µm long. Leptolaimus septimus sp. n. is characterised by the 679-850 µm long body; truncate labial region offset from body contour; cephalic setae 2.5-3.5 µm long; amphid located 8.5-11.5 µm from anterior end; first body pore located 37.0-44.0 µm from anterior end; lateral field originating 26.5-37.0 µm from anterior end; female without supplements, vagina without pars refringens, vulva midventral; male with four (rarely five) tubular and without alveolar supplements, tubular supplements weakly S-shaped, with bifid or blunt tips; spicules arcuate and 31.0-33.5 µm long. Leptolaimus octavus sp. n. is characterised by the 541-638 µm long body; truncate labial region continuous with body contour; cephalic setae 1.5-2.0 µm long; amphid located 8.5-12.0 µm from anterior end; first body pore located 31.5-41.0 µm from anterior end; lateral field originating 26.0-40.0 µm from anterior end and expanding into bursa-like structures along the tail; female without supplements, vagina without pars refringens, vulva midventral; male with four tubular and without alveolar supplements, tubular supplements weakly S-shaped with dentate tips; spicules arcuate and 30.0-31.5 µm long. Leptolaimus nonus sp. n. is characterised by the 403-633 µm long body; rounded labial region continuous with body contour; cephalic setae 1.5-3.0 µm long; amphid located 8.0-10.0 µm from anterior end; first body pore located 16.5-29.0 µm from anterior end; lateral field originating 47.0-99.0 µm from anterior end and expanding into bursa-like structures along the proximal part of the tail; female without supplements, vagina with bacilliform pars refringens, vulva right-subventral; male with 4-5 tubular and without alveolar supplements, tubular supplements weakly arcuate with dentate tips; spicules arcuate and 17.0-26.0 µm long. The following nomenclatorial changes are proposed: Eutelolaimus donsi Allgén, 1947 is transferred to the genus Leptolaimus, as L. donsi (Allgén, 1947) comb. n.; Halaphanolaimus cangionensis Gagarin & Nguyen Vu Thanh, 2007 is transferred to the genus Leptolaimus, as L. cangionensis (Gagarin & Nguyen Vu Thanh, 2007) comb. n.; Halaphanolaimus harpaga Boucher & de Bovée, 1972 is transferred to the genus Leptolaimus, as L. harpaga (Boucher & de Bovée, 1972) comb. n.; Halaphanolaimus lorenzeni Boucher & de Bovée, 1972 is transferred to the genus Leptolaimus, as L. lorenzeni (Boucher & de Bovée, 1972) comb. n.; Halaphanolaimus pellucidus Southern, 1914 is transferred to the genus Leptolaimus, as L. pellucidus (Southern, 1914) comb. n.; Halaphanolaimus rivalis Gagarin & Nguyen Vu Thanh, 2007 is transferred to the genus Leptolaimus, as L. rivalis (Gagarin & Nguyen Vu Thanh, 2007) comb. n.; Halaphanolaimus marinus Kamran, Nasira & Shahina, 2010 is transferred to the genus Leptolaimus as L. marinus (Kamran, Nasira & Shahina, 2010) comb. n. and considered a junior synonym of Leptolaimus rivalis (Gagarin & Nguyen Vu Thanh, 2007) comb. n.; Halaphanolaimus sergeevae Ürkmez & Brennan, 2013 is transferred to the genus Leptolaimus as L. sergeevae (Ürkmez & Brennan, 2013) comb. n.; Leptolaimus vitielloi nom. nov. is proposed for Leptolaimus minutus Vitiello, 1971 nec L. minutus (Schuurmans Stekhoven, 1942) comb. n.; Polylaimium exile Cobb, 1920 is transferred to the genus Leptolaimus, as L. exilis (Cobb, 1920) comb. n. and is considered species inquirendae. A taxonomic review, tabular compendium and identification key for species of the genus Leptolaimus are also given. 

Remote-controlled robotic arm for real-time echocardiography: the diagnostic future for patients in rural areas?

There exists a great clinical need for improving specialist consultation and utilization of echocardiography in areas remote from hospital-based care. This paper presents the development and first technical assessment of a concept of cardiovascular consultation utilizing long distance, real-time echocardiography as a diagnostic tool in rural areas. The development of CARdiological consultation at a DISTance (CARDISTA) was achieved in three stages, comprising tests of different broadband infrastructures, videoconference systems, microphones, cameras, monitors, and loudspeakers. The CARDISTA concept includes a cardiologist and a sonographer, a robotic arm (Medirob), a portable ultrasound machine, and presently available information technology using an advanced broadband backbone. The three stages provided, with some remaining doubts, echocardiographic examination at a distance comparable to hospital-based examinations. A continuous broadband capacity of 20 megabits per second (Mbps) seemed to be a vital component of CARDISTA for achieving the highest-quality imaging. With this broadband capacity, it was possible to achieve a transmission delay below 200 ms. The technical tests of the CARDISTA concept revealed promising results in enabling long distance real-time echocardiography for specialist consultation. CARDISTA is now ready for clinical testing and evaluation in rural areas for patients with heart diseases, especially heart failure.

Characterization of the heartworm Acanthocheilonema spirocauda (Leidy, 1858) Anderson, 1992 (Nematoda: Onchocercidae) in Scandinavia.

The heartworm Acanthocheilonema spirocauda (Leidy, Proc Acad Nat Sci Philadelphia 10:110-112, 1858) Anderson, 1992 is described from material collected from harbour seals in Scandinavia and compared with types and other specimens described by Anderson (Can J Zool 37:481-493, 1959) from harbour seals in eastern USA. Most morphometric characters of the material from USA fall within the ranges established for the Scandinavian one. Some intraspecific variability in the organisation of papillae on the male tail was detected among the Scandinavian specimens. Differences between the specimens from Scandinavia and Eastern USA are also found in the organisation of papillae on the tail of males and females. An excretory pore was not discernible, but a clearly hemizonid-like structure is described. For the first time, scanning electron micrographs present external morphological structures of the species.