Folia Parasitologica - Most viewed articles

Babesia microti (Piroplasmida: Babesiidae) in nymphal Ixodes ricinus (Acari: Ixodidae) in the Czech Republic

Ivo Rudolf, Maryna Golovchenko, Silvie Šikutová, Nataliia Rudenko, Libor Grubhoffer, Zdeněk Hubálek

Folia Parasitologica 52[3] 274-276 (2005) | DOI: 10.14411/fp.2005.036  

A total of 350 nymphs of the common tick Ixodes ricinus (Linnaeus, 1758) were collected in an endemic focus of Lyme borreliosis (South Moravia, Czech Republic) and examined for the presence of the protozoan Babesia microti (França, 1909) by polymerase chain reaction (PCR), using primers specific for the B. microti gene encoding small subunit rRNA. The assay revealed five positive pools (out of 70 pools examined); the corresponding prevalence rate was about 1.5%. Sequence analysis of the PCR products confirmed their 100% homology with that of B. microti. The study represents the first evidence of B. microti in ixodid...

Fish-isolated strains of Hartmannella vermiformis Page, 1967: morphology, phylogeny and molecular diagnosis of the species in tissue lesions

Iva Dyková, Zuzana Pindová, Ivan Fiala, Helena Dvořáková, Blanka Macháčková

Folia Parasitologica 52[4] 295-303 (2005) | DOI: 10.14411/fp.2005.040  

Based on morphological and molecular characterisation, four amoeba strains isolated from organs of freshwater fish were identified as Hartmannella vermiformis Page, 1967. Small subunit rRNA gene sequences of these strains expand the set of corresponding complete and almost complete sequences of this species to twelve. A new species-specific oligonucleotide probe inferred from recently available SSU rRNA gene sequences was designed and successfully tested in tissue lesions produced by one strain of H. vermiformis in experimentally infected fish.

Cucullanus oceaniensis sp. n. (Nematoda: Cucullanidae) from Pacific eels (Anguilla spp.)

František Moravec, Pierre Sasal, Jürgen Würtz, Horst Taraschewski

Folia Parasitologica 52[4] 343-348 (2005) | DOI: 10.14411/fp.2005.047  

A new species of parasitic nematode, Cucullanus oceaniensis sp. n., is described from the intestine of the giant mottled eel Anguilla marmorata (type host) from Futuna Island (Wallis and Futuna Islands, Polynesia) and from A. marmorata and Anguilla sp. (cf. obscura) from Fiji Islands (Melanesia, South Pacific). The main distinguishing characteristics are the length of spicules (668-1,020 µm), situation of deirids (slightly anterior to the oesophago-intestinal junction) and the excretory pore (some distance posterior to the end of oesophagus), and the arrangement of caudal papillae in the male. It is the third known...

Prosorhynchus maternus sp. n. (Digenea: Bucephalidae) from the Malabar grouper Epinephelus malabaricus (Perciformes: Serranidae) off New Caledonia

Rodney A. Bray, Jean-Lou Justine

Folia Parasitologica 53[3] 181-188 (2006) | DOI: 10.14411/fp.2006.024  

A new species, Prosorhynchus maternus sp. n., is described from the serranid fish Epinephelus malabaricus (Bloch et Schneider) in the waters off New Caledonia. It belongs to a group of Prosorhynchus species from serranids in which the uterus is restricted to the postovarian region. Its distinguishing features include the vitellarium relatively distant from the rhynchus, the cirrus-sac relatively distant from the posterior testis, the distinctly pre-equatorial mouth and several other somatic ratios. New records of Prosorhynchus longisaccatus Durio et Manter, 1968 from Epinephelus cyanopodus (Richardson) and Prosorhynchoides...

The status of Rhoptrobothrium Shipley et Hornell, 1906 (Cestoda: Tetraphyllidea), with redescription of the type species, R. myliobatidis, and description of three new species from two species of Aetomylaeus (Myliobatiformes: Myliobatidae) from Malaysian Borneo

Kirsten Jensen, Janine N. Caira

Folia Parasitologica 53[3] 189-207 (2006) | DOI: 10.14411/fp.2006.025  

As part of a metazoan parasite survey of elasmobranchs from Malaysian Borneo, specimens of Rhoptrobothrium Shipley et Hornell, 1906 were collected from the eagle rays Aetomylaeus maculatus (Gray) and Aetomylaeus niehofii (Bloch et Schneider). The type species is redescribed from its type host, and a neotype specimen is designated. In addition, three new species of Rhoptrobothrium are described: R. chongi sp. n., R. gambangi sp. n. and R. limae sp. n. Rhoptrobothrium myliobatidis conspicuously differs from the three new species in its lack of a secondary areola; R. limae is distinguished...

Hylomysobia gen. n. (Acari: Myobiidae), a new genus of mites parasitic on gymnures of the genus Hylomys (Eulipotyphla: Erinaceidae)

Andre V. Bochkov, Barry M. OConnor

Folia Parasitologica 53[4] 302-310 (2006) | DOI: 10.14411/fp.2006.037  

A new genus of Myobiidae, Hylomysobia gen. n. with two new species, H. mikhailzaitzevi sp. n. (type species) and H. chinensis sp. n., is described from gymnures of the genus Hylomys Müller (Eulipotyphla: Erinaceidae). The two species parasitize Hylomys suillus Müller from Cambodia and Vietnam, and Hylomys sinensis (Trouessart) from China, respectively. These species represent the first records of myobiid mites from species in the family Erinaceidae. The new genus differs from the closely related Eutalpacarus Jameson, 1949 by the following features: in both sexes, coxae I have a triangular process, setae...

Viability of pathogenic Naegleria and Acanthamoeba isolates during 10 years of cryopreservation

David T. John, Rebecca A. John

Folia Parasitologica 53[4] 311-312 (2006) | DOI: 10.14411/fp.2006.038  

This is a follow-up report on the viability of pathogenic Naegleria fowleri, Naegleria australiensis and Acanthamoeba castellanii isolates during 5 to 10 years of cryopreservation at -70°C. The greatest decrease in viability occurred with N. fowleri and the least occurred with N. australiensis. At 10 years of cryostorage, viability was 21% for N. fowleri, 32% for A. castellanii and 51% for N. australiensis.

Bartonella infections in fleas (Siphonaptera: Pulicidae) and lack of bartonellae in ticks (Acari: Ixodidae) from Hungary

Zsuzsa Sréter-Lancz, Krisztián Tornyai, Zoltán Széll, Tamás Sréter, Károly Márialigeti

Folia Parasitologica 53[4] 313-316 (2006) | DOI: 10.14411/fp.2006.039  

Fleas (95 Pulex irritans, 50 Ctenocephalides felis, 45 Ctenocephalides canis) and ixodid ticks (223 Ixodes ricinus, 231 Dermacentor reticulatus, 204 Haemaphysalis concinna) were collected in Hungary and tested, in assays based on PCR, for Bartonella infection. Low percentages of P. irritans (4.2%) and C. felis (4.0%) were found to be infected. The groEL sequences of the four isolates from P. irritans were different from all the homologous sequences for bartonellae previously stored in GenBank but closest to those of Bartonella sp. SE-Bart-B (sharing 96% identities)....

F. Moravec: Dracunculoid and Anguillicoloid Nematodes Parasitic in Vertebrates.

Vlastimil Baruš

Folia Parasitologica 54[2] 154 (2007) | DOI: 10.14411/fp.2007.020  

Academia, Praha, 2006. ISBN 80-200-1431-4, hardback, 636 pp. Price: CZK (Czech crowns) 695.00.

Phylogenetic analysis of the SSU rRNA gene from the piscine diplomonad Spironucleus torosus (Diplomonadida: Hexamitinae)

Anders Jørgensen, Anders Alfjorden, Kristin Henriksen, Erik Sterud

Folia Parasitologica 54[4] 277-282 (2007) | DOI: 10.14411/fp.2007.036  

Previous studies have recorded Spironucleus torosus Poynton et Morrison, 1990 from several species of gadoid fishes, including the only freshwater gadoid, the burbot Lota lota (L.). Two morphologically different isolates of S. torosus have been described (elongate and pyriform). Both have been found in saltwater, while only the elongate has been found in freshwater. To address the conspecificity of the two morphs of S. torosus, and to identify the source of S. torosus in burbot in Norway, we have sequenced the small subunit ribosomal RNA (SSU rRNA) gene from 43 isolates of S. torosus from six species of gadoid...

A diagnostic assay based on variable intergenic region distinguishes between Leishmania donovani and Leishmania infantum

Eva Chocholová, Milan Jirků, Julius Lukeš

Folia Parasitologica 55[1] 75-78 (2008) | DOI: 10.14411/fp.2008.010  

We have developed a PCR assay that in a single reaction distinguishes between Leishmania infantum and Leishmania donovani strains on the basis of different size of the amplicon. The targeted intergenic region between putative biopterin transporter and nucleotide binding protein on chromosome 35 is highly variable, species-specific and can be amplified from clinical samples. Based on the assay, five tested Leishmania archibaldi and L. infantum strains from the Sudan and Ethiopia clearly belong to L. donovani, which is in accordance with a recent multifactorial analysis of these strains. The nucleotide sequence reported...

Neoskrjabinolepis merkushevae sp. n. (Cyclophyllidea: Hymenolepididae), a new cestode from shrews from the Palaearctic region

Svetlana A. Kornienko, Rasa Binkienė

Folia Parasitologica 55[2] 136-140 (2008) | DOI: 10.14411/fp.2008.018  

Neoskrjabinolepis (Neoskrjabinolepidoides) merkushevae sp. n. is described from the shrew Sorex minutus L. (type host) from Belarus. The new species is characterised by rostellar hooks 35-37 µm long, provided with small epiphyseal thickening of the handle; short (35-40 µm) cirrus consisting of a basal part with claw-shaped spines, a parabasal part with thin needleshaped spines and an unarmed distal part; cirrus-sac slightly passing into median field; and 12-16 eggs per gravid uterus. In addition to the type host and the type locality, the host range of the new species includes Sorex araneus L. and there...

Differential host utilisation by different life history stages of the fish ectoparasite Argulus foliaceus (Crustacea: Branchiura)

Peter D. Walker, Jack E. Harris, Gerardvander Velde, Sjoerd E. Wendelaar Bonga

Folia Parasitologica 55[2] 141-149 (2008) | DOI: 10.14411/fp.2008.019  

In this study we examine differences in the occurrence of life history stages of the destructive fish ectoparasite Argulus foliaceus (L., 1758) on eight fish species (stickleback, rudd, roach, gudgeon, bream, tench, crucian carp and common carp) sampled from a mixed-species recreational fishing lake on nine occasions during late spring and summer. Total numbers of A. foliaceus, as well as the number of larval, juvenile and adult parasite stages, from each fish were recorded along with the fish species. Lice generally exhibited an aggregated distribution approximating a negative binomial distribution. Significant differences in the prevalence,...

A new genus of syringophilid mites (Acari: Cheyletoidea: Syringophilidae) from cuculiform birds (Aves: Cuculiformes)

Maciej Skoracki

Folia Parasitologica 55[2] 155-158 (2008) | DOI: 10.14411/fp.2008.021  

Cuculisyringophilus crotophaginus gen. n. et sp. n. is described from the guira cuckoo Guira guira (Gmelin) from Paraguay and also was collected from the groove-billed ani Crotophaga sulcirostris Swainson from Colombia and Mexico. This new genus is closely related to Neoaulobia Fain, Bochkov et Mironov, 2000 but is distinguished by the following characters: propodosomal setae sce are situated distinctly anterior to level of setae d1, leg setae vs'II are absent, apodemes I are divergent.

Phylogeny of Flabellulidae (Amoebozoa: Leptomyxida) inferred from SSU rDNA sequences of the type strain of Flabellula citata Schaeffer, 1926 and newly isolated strains of marine amoebae

Iva Dyková, Ivan Fiala, Hana Pecková, Helena Dvořáková

Folia Parasitologica 55[4] 256-264 (2008) | DOI: 10.14411/fp.2008.033  

New strains of non-vannellid flattened amoebae isolated from fish, an invertebrate and the marine environment were studied together with Flabellula citata Schaeffer, 1926 selected by morphology as a reference strain. The study revealed a paucity of features distinguishing individual strains at the generic level, but clearly evidenced mutual phylogenetic relationships within the assemblage of strains as well as their affiliation to the Leptomyxida. In this study, the SSU rDNA dataset of leptomyxids was expanded and a new branching pattern was presented within this lineage of Amoebozoa. Sequences of three newly introduced strains clustered in...

Quill mites of the genus Syringophilopsis Kethley, 1970 (Acari: Syringophilidae) from North American birds

Maciej Skoracki, Maureen E. Flannery, Greg S. Spicer

Folia Parasitologica 55[4] 291-300 (2008) | DOI: 10.14411/fp.2008.037  

Seven mite species belonging to the genus Syringophilopsis Kethley, 1970 (Acari: Prostigmata: Cheyletoidea) are recorded from 10 passeriform host species from the USA. Three new species are described and illustrated: Syringophilopsis polioptilus sp. n. from Polioptila caerulea (Linnaeus) (Polioptilidae); S. empidonax sp. n. from Empidonax hammondii (Vesey) and Empidonax wrightii Baird (Tyrannidae); and S. sialiae sp. n. from Sialia mexicana Swainson (Turdidae). In addition, records of new hosts are given: Turdus migratorius Linnaeus (Turdidae) for Syringophilopsis turdus (Fritsch,...

A redescription of Trichosurolaelaps dixous Domrow, 1972 (Acari: Laelapidae), from Trichosurus cunninghami (Marsupialia: Phalangeridae) from southern Australia

Jasmin Hufschmid, Ian Beveridge, Kathrine Ann Handasyde, David Michael Spratt

Folia Parasitologica 55[4] 301-308 (2008) | DOI: 10.14411/fp.2008.038  

The adults of Trichosurolaelaps dixous Domrow, 1972 are redescribed from a population of Trichosurus cunninghami Lindenmayer, Dubach et Viggers, 2002 in south-eastern Australia. The nymphal stages are described for the first time. Morphologically, T. dixous is similar to Trichosurolaelaps crassipes Womersley, 1956. Morphological differences between the pre-female deutonymphs and adult females of the two mite species are the presence of a single large ventral spur on tibia I of T. dixous. Males of T. dixous could not be distinguished from T. crassipes morphologically and the idiosomal length of male T....

Bipteria formosa (Kovaleva et Gaevskaya, 1979) comb. n. (Myxozoa: Myxosporea) in whiting Merlangius merlangus (Teleostei: Gadidae) from Denmark

Egil Karlsbakk, Marianne Køie

Folia Parasitologica 56[2] 86-90 (2009) | DOI: 10.14411/fp.2009.013  

A total of 22 specimens of whiting Merlangius merlangus (L.) (Teleostei, Gadidae) from the northern Øresund, Denmark were examined for Myxosporea. Zschokkella hildae Auerbach, 1910 (Myxidiidae), Gadimyxa sp. (Parvicapsulidae) and a species of Bipteria occurred in the renal tubules of 9%, 18% and 68% whiting, respectively. Immature spores of the Bipteria species are very similar to spores of Myxoproteus formosus Kovaleva et Gaevskaya, 1979 originally described from the urinary system of whiting from the Celtic Sea. We therefore consider Bipteria sp. from whiting in Denmark conspecific with M. formosus...

Trichodinids (Ciliophora: Peritrichida) of Mugil platanus (Mugiliformes: Mugilidae) and Micropogonias furnieri (Perciformes: Sciaenidae) from Samborombón Bay, Argentina, with the description of a new species

Paula S. Marcotegui, Sergio R. Martorelli

Folia Parasitologica 56[3] 167-172 (2009) | DOI: 10.14411/fp.2009.020  

During surveys of parasites of the whitemouth croaker Micropogonias furnieri (Desmarest) and the mullet Mugil platanus Günther from Samborombón Bay, Argentina, Trichodina puytoraci, T. lepsii, T. jadranica, T. murmanica, Diparitella simplex and Trichodina scalensis sp. n. were morphologically studied. Taxonomic and morphometric data for these trichodinids based on dry silver nitrate-impregnated specimens are presented. This study is the first formal report of these trichodinids from the southwest Atlantic Ocean, and the description of a new species from M. platanus.

Lectinhistochemical detection of terminal carbohydrate residues in the enteric myxozoan Enteromyxum leei parasitizing gilthead seabream Sparus aurata (Pisces: Teleostei): a study using light and transmission electron microscopy

María J. Redondo, Pilar Alvarez-Pellitero

Folia Parasitologica 56[4] 259-267 (2009) | DOI: 10.14411/fp.2009.030  

The presence of terminal carbohydrate residues in Enteromyxum leei (Diamant, Lom et Dyková, 1994) Palenzuela, Redondo et Álvarez-Pellitero, 2002 stages in gilthead seabream intestines was studied at light microscopy (LM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) level using lectin histochemical techniques. Abundant mannose and/or glucose residues were demonstrated by the intense staining caused by binding of biotinylated concanavalin A (Con A), at both LM and TEM. A clear positivity was also obtained with Ulex europaeus (UEA I) agglutinin specific for fucose residues. Both lectins stained E. leei proliferative and sporogonic stages,...

New name for Progrillotia dollfusi Carvajal et Rego, 1983 (Cestoda: Trypanorhyncha): description of adults from Squatina guggenheim (Chondrichthyes: Squatiniformes) off the coast of Argentina

Adriana Menoret, Verónica A. Ivanov

Folia Parasitologica 56[4] 284-294 (2009) | DOI: 10.14411/fp.2009.033  

Examination of the type material of Progrillotia dollfusi Carvajal et Rego, 1983, and of new specimens recently collected off the coast of Argentina (including plerocerci from 10 species of teleosts and adults from Squatina guggenheim Marini), allowed a detailed redescription of this species and the evaluation of its current taxonomic status. The following characters that have been treated inconsistently by different authors have been herein corrected or confirmed: band of hooklets on external surface restricted to the base of the tentacle, external surface of metabasal region with 3-5 intercalary hooks arranged in a single row merging...

Acanthochondria serrani sp. n. (Copepoda: Chondracanthidae) parasitic on Serranus auriga (Perciformes: Serranidae) from Argentinean waters

Paola E. Braicovich, Juan T. Timi

Folia Parasitologica 56[4] 313-316 (2009) | DOI: 10.14411/fp.2009.036  

A new species of Acanthochondria Oakley, 1927 (Copepoda, Poecilostomatoida, Chondracanthidae), parasitic on Serranus auriga (Cuvier) from the Argentinean coastal zone, is described and illustrated. The new species differs from its congeners by the relative length of the neck and the protopod of leg 2. This is the second record of this genus for the South-eastern Atlantic and the first one from a serranid host.

J. Sitko, A. Okulewicz: Checklist of the Nematodes in Birds in the Czech Republic and the Slovak Republic. Comenius Museum Přerov, Přerov (Czech Republic), 2010. ISBN 978-80-903713-9-2, hardcover, 100 pp. Price EUR 10.00.

František Moravec

Folia Parasitologica 57[4] 312 (2010) | DOI: 10.14411/fp.2010.038  

Two new species of Clestobothrium (Cestoda: Bothriocephalidea), parasites of Merluccius australis and M. hubbsi (Gadiformes: Merlucciidae) from the Patagonian shelf of Argentina, with comments on Clestobothrium crassiceps (Rudolphi, 1819)

Alicia A. Gilde Pertierra, Inés S. Incorvaia, Nathalia J. Arredondo

Folia Parasitologica 58[2] 121-134 (2011) | DOI: 10.14411/fp.2011.012  

Two new species of bothriocephalidean cestodes, Clestobothrium splendidum sp. n. from Merluccius australis (Hutton) and Clestobothrium cristinae sp. n. from Merluccius hubbsi Marini from the Patagonian shelf of Argentina, are described. Clestobothrium splendidum can be typified by the following characteristics: a medium-sized strobila composed of 410-528 proglottides that are much wider than long; 49-90 testes per mature proglottis, partially surrounding the ovary posteriorly; a transversely elongated genital pore situated anterior to spurious articulations; presence of a genital atrium; a globular cirrus-sac occupying...

N. Pelgunov (Ed.): Katalog tipov ploskikh chervey v Gel\'mintologicheskom Muzee Tsentra Parazitologii IPEE RAN [Catalogue of flatworm types in the Helminthological Museum of the Centre of Parasitology, A. N. Severtsov Institute of Ecology and Evolution, Russian Academy of Sciences]. Prepared by L. V. Filimonova and V. V. Lomakin.

F. Moravec

Folia Parasitologica 58[4] 278 (2011) | DOI: 10.14411/fp.2011.027  

book-review

Redescription of Dinemoura discrepans Cressey, 1967 (Copepoda: Pandaridae) parasitic on four species of sharks off southeast coast of Taiwan

Ju-shey Ho, Ching-Long Lin

Folia Parasitologica 58[4] 311-317 (2011) | DOI: 10.14411/fp.2011.031  

Dinemoura discrepans Cressey, 1967 (Copepoda, Siphonostomatoida, Pandaridae) is redescribed based on the specimens taken from four species of sharks caught off the southeast coast of Taiwan. The four species of sharks are: pelagic thresher, Alopias pelagicus Nakamura; bigeye thresher, A. superciliosus Lowe; blacktip shark, Carcharhinus limbatus (Müller et Henle); and oceanic whitetip shark, C. longimanus (Poey). Although our redescription shows certain differences from the original description, after re-examination of the museum specimens studied by R. F. Cressey in making the original description, it was confirmed...

Ultrastructure of the spermatozoon of the digenean Lecithocladium excisum (Rudolphi, 1819) (Hemiuroidea: Hemiuridae), a parasite of marine teleosts in Senegal

Papa Ibnou Ndiaye, Papa Mbagnick Diagne, Aminata Sène, Abdoulaye J.S. Bakhoum, Jordi Miquel

Folia Parasitologica 59[3] 173-178 (2012)  

The present study describes the ultrastructure of the mature spermatozoon of Lecithocladium excisum (Rudolphi, 1819) (Digenea: Hemiuroidea: Hemiuridae) from the stomach of the marine teleost Scomber japonicus Houttuyn (Scombridae) captured in the Atlantic Ocean, off Dakar (Senegal). The ultrastructural organization of the spermatozoon of L. excisum follows the general model described in most digeneans. It presents two axonemes of the 9+'1' pattern of the Trepaxonemata, nucleus, mitochondrion and parallel cortical microtubules, among other characters. However, some particularities of the spermatozoon of L. excisum are (i)...

A redescription of Pseudocharopinus pteromylaei Raibaut et Essafi, 1979 (Siphonostomatoida: Lernaeopodidae) collected from the South African east coast

Susan M. Dippenaar

Folia Parasitologica 59[3] 216-220 (2012)  

Pseudocharopinus Kabata, 1964 is one of the 48 genera comprising the Lernaeopodidae (Copepoda, Siphonostomatoida). Currently there are 11 accepted species contained in Pseudocharopinus. Pseudocharopinus pteromylaei Raibaut et Essafi, 1979 infects the spiracles and gill filaments of Pteromylaeus bovinus (Geoffroy St. Hilaire) and is most similar in general appearance to P. pteroplateae (Yamaguti et Yamasu, 1959) from which it clearly differs in the size and dimensions of the dorsal shield and the posterior processes. Additional features of the antenna and the maxilliped of P. pteromylaei, not previously illustrated,...

New genus and three new species of quill mites (Acari: Syringophilidae: Picobiinae) parasitising puffbirds (Aves: Piciformes)

Maciej Skoracki, Katarzyna Scibek, Bozena Sikora

Folia Parasitologica 59[3] 229-236 (2012)  

Three new species, belonging to the newly proposed genus Pseudopicobia gen. n., inhabiting body quill feathers of puffbirds (Piciformes: Bucconidae), are described: P. nonnula sp. n. from Nonnula frontalis (Sclater) in Colombia, P. malacoptila sp. n. from Malacoptila panamensis Lafresnaye in Colombia and P. hapaloptila sp. n. from Hapaloptila castanea (Verreaux) in Ecuador. The new genus differs from morphologically similar genus Picobia Heller, 1878 by the absence of the genital setae, absence of the genital lobes, solenidia φI represented by microsetae, and by the presence of setiform solenidia...

New data on the morphology of Iheringascaris inquies (Linton, 1901) (Nematoda: Anisakidae), a specific parasite of the marine fish Rachycentron canadum (Linnaeus), as revealed by SEM

František Moravec, Justin Yost, Isaurede Buron

Folia Parasitologica 59[4] 315-318 (2012) | DOI: 10.14411/fp.2012.045  

Specimens of the type species of the ascaridoid genus Iheringascaris Pereira, 1935, I. inquies (Linton, 1901) (Anisakidae), were collected from the digestive tract and mesentery of its type host Rachycentron canadum (Linnaeus) (Rachycentridae, Perciformes) from off the Atlantic coast of South Carolina, USA, during May of 2011. Scanning electron microscopical examination, used for the first time for specimens originating from the West Atlantic, made it possible to study in detail some taxonomically important morphological features, such as the number and distribution of male caudal papillae, cephalic and cuticular structures, deirids...