Contracaecum spiculigerum (Rudolphi, 1809) Railliet & Henry, 1912

Arai, Hisao P. & Smith, John W., 2016, Guide to the Parasites of Fishes of Canada Part V: Nematoda, Zootaxa 4185 (1), pp. 1-274 : 131

* Contracaecum spiculigerum (Rudolphi, 1809) Railliet & Henry, 1912

Description (after Huizinga 1966). Huizinga’s tabulated data indicate that seventeen 18-day-old L3 from

experimentally infected mummichog Fundulus heteroclitus were 0.202–1.902 (mean 1.263) long, and 0.016–0.071

(0.041) wide at ventriculus; however, the mean length is given as 1.236 in the text. [Older larvae are presumably

longer and wider (see C. rudolphii above).] Nerve ring 0.059–0.128 (0.105) from anterior end. Length of

preventriculus 0.109–0.257 (0.197), ventriculus 0.007–0.037 (0.019), ventricular appendix 0.016–0.287 (0.179),

intestinal caecum 0.029–0.095 (0.066) [ Fig. 77 A], and tail 0.031–0.099 (0.061) [ Fig. 77 B].

Sites: liver, mesenteries

Hosts: Morone americana (4); Oncorhynchus nerka (1); Perca flavescens (2, 3, 5, 6); Ptychocheilus oregonensis (1)

Distribution: Alberta, British Columbia, Ontario

Records: 1. Bangham & Adams 1954 (BC); 2. Tedla 1969 (ON); 3. Tedla & Fernando 1969a (ON); 4. Tedla & Fernando 1969b (ON); 5. Tedla & Fernando 1972 (ON); 6. Zelmer 1994 (AB)

Figures

FIGURE 77. * Contracaecum spiculigerum (Rudolphi, 1809) Railliet & Henry, 1912. A. L 3, anterior end, lateral view; B. L 3, posterior end, lateral view. (Redrawn from Huizinga 1966).