DAO 27:237-239 (1996)  -  doi:10.3354/dao027237

Aquatic snails Galbacorvus (Gmelin) were found to be suitable paratenic hosts for third-stage larvae (L₃) of the nematode Anguillicolacrassus Kuwahara, Niimi et Itagaki, 1974, a pathogenic swimbladder parasite of the eel Anguillaanguilla (L.), which is found in Europe and elsewhere. This is the first evidence that not only prey fishes but also invertebrates can serve as paratenic hosts to this parasite. A. crassus L₃ were found unencapsulated, mostly in the tissue of the snail's foot or its haepatopancreas, where they survived for nearly 2 mo. Experimental infections of perch Percafluviatilis L. with A. crassus L₃ from copepods confirmed further development of this nematode up to the fourth larval stage, showing that perch belongs to the category of metaparatenic hosts of A. crassus.

Parasitic nematode · Anguillicola crassus · Paratenic hosts · Aquatic snails · Galba corvus