US Fish & Wildlife Service
Date of this Version
1978
Abstract
The title is accurate but the subject is a little misleading. One would expect that the fish-eating birds will acquire nematodes from the fish they eat. On the contrary, with one exception, Eustrongylides tubifex, as far as is known none of these nematodes use fish as normal intermediate hosts. A few species use fish as paratenic hosts. The book consists of an Introduction (2 pages), General Account of Nematodes (4 pages), the Systematic Part (233 pages), List of Fish-Eating Birds and Their Nematodes (22 pages), References (29 pages) and Index (13 pages). There are keys to families, genera, and species in appropriate places. Each species description contains excellent line drawings and sections on Hosts, Localization, Distribution, Description, Biology (life cycle), Notes, and References. Omitted because of very recent publication is the interesting life cycle of Eustrongylides tubifex (Fastzkie and Sprinkle 1977, J Parasitol 63: 707- 712). This species uses fish as an intermediate host and it would not be surprising if other Eustrongylides spp. are found to develop in fish. This book will be very useful to anyone interested in the nematodes of fish-eating birds. Similar volumes on Cestoidea and Acanthocephala, and Trematoda are scheduled to follow.
Comments
Published in The Journal of Parasitology, Vol. 64 No. 4, August 1978