DAO prepress abstract - DOI: https://doi.org/10.3354/dao03791
Occurrence of Stenurus globicephalae Baylis & Daubney, 1925 (Nematoda: Pseudaliidae) in the blowhole of Globicephala macrorhynchus Gray, 1846 (Cetacea: Delphinidae) in Tasmania, Australia
Shokoofeh Shamsi, FrantiĊĦek Moravec, Diane P. Barton*
ABSTRACT: Information about parasites of cetaceans in Australia is scarce and mostly opportunistic. The morphology of specimens of the metastrongyloid Stenurus globicephalae Baylis & Daubney, 1925 (Nematoda: Pseudaliidae), collected from the blowhole of the pilot whale Globicephala macrorhynchus Gray, 1846 (Cetacea: Delphinidae) off northern Tasmania, Australia were studied. Their light and scanning electron microscopical examinations enabled a detailed redescription of this nematode species, including corrections of some inaccuracies in previous species descriptions, particularly those concerning cephalic and caudal structures. The presence of numerous ventrolateral oblique muscle bands, characteristic of the males of S. globicephalae, is reported for the first time. This is the second finding of this nematode parasite, in a different host species, in Tasmania.