Folia Parasitologica 71:019 (2024) | DOI: 10.14411/fp.2024.019

Redescription of Proteocephalus fallax La Rue, 1911 (Cestoda) and a list of proteocephalid tapeworms of whitefish (Coregonus spp.)

Tomáš Scholz ORCID...1, *, Alain de Chambrier ORCID...2, Jan Brabec ORCID...1, 2, Rune Knudsen ORCID...3, Isabel Blasco-Costa ORCID...2, 3
1 Institute of Parasitology, Biology Centre of the Czech Academy of Sciences, České Budějovice, Czech Republic;
2 Department of Invertebrates, Natural History Museum of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland;
3 Department of Arctic and Marine Biology, The Arctic University of Norway, Tromsø, Norway *Address for correspondence: Tomáš Scholz, Institute of Parasitology, Biology Centre of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Branišovská 31, 370 05 České Budějovice, Czech Republic. Email: tscholz@paru.cas.cz; ORCID-iD 0000-0002-6340-3750

Tapeworms of the genus Proteocephalus Weinland, 1858 (Cestoda: Proteocephalidae) are common and widespread intestinal parasites of whitefish (Coregonus spp., Salmonidae: Coregoninae). Previous taxonomic studies, based solely on morphology and inconsistently fixed specimens, concluded that all salmoniform fish, including whitefish, are parasitised by a single euryxenous and highly polymorphic species, Proteocephalus longicollis (Zeder, 1800). However, recent molecular phylogenetic analyses have revealed the existence of several species specific to individual genera or even species of salmoniform fish. In this study, Proteocephalus fallax La Rue, 1911 is redescribed based on newly collected and genetically characterised specimens from several Coregonus species in Switzerland, the type locality of the species, and in Norway. This cestode was previously synonymised with P. exiguus La Rue, 1911, a parasite of whitefish in North America, but the two species are not closely related. Proteocephalus fallax differs from P. exiguus in its larger body size, wider proglottids, shorter cirrus sac and broader scolex. In addition, the other Proteocephalus species described in whitefish are briefly discussed, with comments on their validity, host range and distribution.

Keywords: Eucestoda, Proteocephalidae, Salmonidae, morphology, taxonomy, distribution, Europe

Received: June 25, 2024; Revised: September 23, 2024; Accepted: September 30, 2024; Published online: October 22, 2024  Show citation

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Scholz, T., de Chambrier, A., Brabec, J., Knudsen, R., & Blasco-Costa, I. (2024). Redescription of Proteocephalus fallax La Rue, 1911 (Cestoda) and a list of proteocephalid tapeworms of whitefish (Coregonus spp.). Folia Parasitologica, 71, Article 2024.019. https://doi.org/10.14411/fp.2024.019
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