26
CARL J . SINDERMANN
been demonstrated experimentally (Sindermann and Rosenfield, 1954b)
that massive cercarial invasion will blind and kill immature herring,
and it has been postulated that invasions of comparable magnitude
are possible in the inshore habitat of the fish.
Another larval fluke, Stephanostomum baccatum (Nicoll), occurs in a
number of marine fishes, particularly flatfishes, from the Canadian
Atlantic coast to the Baltic Sea. The life cycle, as elucidated by
Wolfgang ( 1954), involves gastropods of the family Buccinidae, the
winter flounder and other pleuronectids, and the sea raven, Hemitripterus americanus (Gmelin). Metacercariae occur in unpigmented
cysts, concentrated on the blind side of the flatfish and in the fins,
often in great numbers in larger fish. The parasite was originally
reported from a halibut from the English coast by Nicoll (1907) and
uas later found in American plaice, Hippoglossoides platessoides (Fabr.),
by Nicoll(1910). Dawes (1947) recorded six species of European flatfish
as hosts.
Many other larval trematodes occur in marine fishes. BykhovskayaPavlovskaya and Petrushevskii (1959)) for example, have listed 46
species of metacercariae from the USSR, of which almost half occurred
in marine or estuarine species. Fish-eating birds and mammals have
been identified as definitive hosts of most of these parasites. Mass
mortalities due to larval trematode invasion have been reported from
the Aral and Caspian Seas (Dogie1 and Bykhovskii, 1934; Dubinin,
1949). Red mullets, Mullus barbatus (L.) and M . surmuletus (L.) in the
Mediterranean Sea are often parasitized by larval trematodes, according
to Orlandini (1957).
Adult digenetic trematodes are common parasites of the digestive
tract, but are usually not a cause of serious disease. Cosmopolitan
fish species harbor a number of adult trematodes throughout their
range. Manter (1955) has reviewed the zoogeography of many, including
the 20 species from Atlantic eels. He found that most of these trematodes were of marine origin, and that those characteristic of the eel
in Europe were different from those reported in America. Apparently
the parasites were acquired after the larval eels had separated in the
Atlantic. Many of the trematode species found in marine fishes of a
given geographic region are peculiar to that region, although similarities
of fauna from major ocean areas such as European Atlantic and
Mediterranean exist.
Among the monogenetic trematodes parasitic on gills and body
surfaces of marine fishes, a number become serious parasites in aquaria,
where conditions for reinfestation are optimum. Only rarely, and
under unusual conditions, have members of this group been demon-
CARL J . SINDERMANN
been demonstrated experimentally (Sindermann and Rosenfield, 1954b)
that massive cercarial invasion will blind and kill immature herring,
and it has been postulated that invasions of comparable magnitude
are possible in the inshore habitat of the fish.
Another larval fluke, Stephanostomum baccatum (Nicoll), occurs in a
number of marine fishes, particularly flatfishes, from the Canadian
Atlantic coast to the Baltic Sea. The life cycle, as elucidated by
Wolfgang ( 1954), involves gastropods of the family Buccinidae, the
winter flounder and other pleuronectids, and the sea raven, Hemitripterus americanus (Gmelin). Metacercariae occur in unpigmented
cysts, concentrated on the blind side of the flatfish and in the fins,
often in great numbers in larger fish. The parasite was originally
reported from a halibut from the English coast by Nicoll (1907) and
uas later found in American plaice, Hippoglossoides platessoides (Fabr.),
by Nicoll(1910). Dawes (1947) recorded six species of European flatfish
as hosts.
Many other larval trematodes occur in marine fishes. BykhovskayaPavlovskaya and Petrushevskii (1959)) for example, have listed 46
species of metacercariae from the USSR, of which almost half occurred
in marine or estuarine species. Fish-eating birds and mammals have
been identified as definitive hosts of most of these parasites. Mass
mortalities due to larval trematode invasion have been reported from
the Aral and Caspian Seas (Dogie1 and Bykhovskii, 1934; Dubinin,
1949). Red mullets, Mullus barbatus (L.) and M . surmuletus (L.) in the
Mediterranean Sea are often parasitized by larval trematodes, according
to Orlandini (1957).
Adult digenetic trematodes are common parasites of the digestive
tract, but are usually not a cause of serious disease. Cosmopolitan
fish species harbor a number of adult trematodes throughout their
range. Manter (1955) has reviewed the zoogeography of many, including
the 20 species from Atlantic eels. He found that most of these trematodes were of marine origin, and that those characteristic of the eel
in Europe were different from those reported in America. Apparently
the parasites were acquired after the larval eels had separated in the
Atlantic. Many of the trematode species found in marine fishes of a
given geographic region are peculiar to that region, although similarities
of fauna from major ocean areas such as European Atlantic and
Mediterranean exist.
Among the monogenetic trematodes parasitic on gills and body
surfaces of marine fishes, a number become serious parasites in aquaria,
where conditions for reinfestation are optimum. Only rarely, and
under unusual conditions, have members of this group been demon-