DAO 45:155-158 (2001)  -  doi:10.3354/dao045155

ABSTRACT: Common sculpins Cottus gobio L. (Pisces: Cottidae), from the Ml)nsk) Brook near >eské 5leby in the 2umava National Park, southwestern Bohemia, Czech Republic, were found to harbour in their intestines juvenile cestodes Proteocephalus longicollis (Zeder, 1800), a common parasite of holarctic salmonids, with a prevalence of 60% and intensity of 1 to 11 (mean 5) parasites per fish; undoubtedly, these prey fish serve as paratenic hosts. In this locality, the definitive host of P. longicollis is the brown trout Salmo trutta m. fario L., large specimens of which apparently acquire infection of this parasite by feeding on infected sculpins. C. gobio is the first known natural paratenic host of P. longicollis in Europe.

KEY WORDS: Cestoda · Proteocephalus longicollis · Paratenic host · Cottus gobio · Salmo trutta m. fario · Czech Republic