OF WASHINGTON, VOLUME 59, NUMBER 1, JANUARY 1992 147 Mooney, N. 1991. Diet of the masked owl in Tas- with Trichinellapseudospiralis Garkavi, 1972. Fo- mania. Royal Society of New South Wales (Pro- lia Parasitologica (Prague) 27:227-230. ceedings of Symposium of Australian Raptor As- Tomasovicova, O. 1975. Poultry—a new host of sociation). (In press.) Trichinella pseudospiralis (Garkavi, 1972). Biolo- Obendorf, D. L., J. H. Handlinger, R. M. Mason, K. gia (Bratislava) 30:821-826. P. Clarke, A. J. Forman, P. f. Hooper, S. J. Smith, , and J. Hovorka. 1982. On the susceptibility and M. Holdsworth. 1990. Trichinella pseudo- of birds to Trichinella pseudospiralis Garkavi 1972. spiralis in Tasmanian wildlife. Australian Veter- Biologia (Bratislava) 37:169-173. inary Journal 67:108-110. Wheeldon, E. B., T. A. Dick, and T. A. Shulz. 1983. Kausch, R. L., B. B. Babero, R. V. Rausch, and E. L. First report of Trichinella spiralis var. pseudospi- Schiller. 1956. Studies on the helminth fauna of ralis in North America. Journal of Parasitology Alaska, XXVII. The occurrence of Trichinella 69:781-782. spiralis in Alaskan mammals. Journal of Parasi- Zimmermann, W. J.,-and E. O. Hubbard. 1969. tology 42:259-271. Trichinosis in wildlife in Iowa. American Journal Shaikenov, B. 1980. Spontaneous infection of birds of Epidemiology 90:84-92. J. Helminthol. Soc. Wash. 59(1), 1992, pp. 147-148 Research Note Prevalence of Acetodextra amiuri (Trematoda: Cryptogonimidae) in Channel Catfish, Ictalurus punctatus, from Kentucky Lake, Kentucky-Tennessee T. J. TlMMONS, R. J. SCHULER, JR., AND L. F. DUOBINIS-GRAY Department of Biological Sciences, Murray State University, Murray, Kentucky 42071 ABSTRACT: One hundred seventy-three channel cat- and riverine, included the Pickwick Dam tail- fish, Ictalurus punctatus, were collected in Kentucky waters, and was nearly as long as areas 1 and 2 Lake by monthly gill netting from April through Oc- combined. Voucher specimens were deposited in tober 1988, and examined for the presence of the di- genean Acetodextra amiuri. Only the ovaries of mature the USNM Helminthological Collection, USDA, females were infected. Mature females constituted Beltsville, Maryland 20705, as Acetodextra ami- 46.8% (81/173) of the sample and 18.5% (15/81) were uri (No. 81240). infected. The highest prevalences were observed during Acetodextra amiuri was observed only in the June and July (70% and 50%, respectively). ovaries of adult channel catfish. Acetodextra KEY WORDS: channel catfish, Acetodextra amiuri, Ictalurus punctatus, prevalence, Kentucky Lake, Di- amiuri was not observed in air bladders of either genea. males or females as observed by Perkins (1956). Eighty-one (46.8%) of the fish collected were ma- The prevalence of Acetodextra amiuri (Staf- ture females and 15 of these (18.5%) were in- ford) in channel catfish, Ictalurus punctatus (Raf- fected. Females infected with A. amiuri had a inesque), was studied in Kentucky Lake, an im- mean total length of 498 mm (range 386-601 poundment of the Tennessee River. One hundred mm), a mean weight of 1,512 g (range 687-2,471 seventy-three channel catfish (>300 mm) were g), and a mean ovary weight of 79 g (range 2— collected with gill nets from April through Oc- 206 g). Females without A. amiuri had a mean tober 1988. Based upon its large size (64,800 total length of 460 mm (range 300-611 mm), a hectares), the lake was divided into 3 sampling mean weight of 1,163 g (range 341-2,821 g), and areas extending from Kentucky Dam in Ken- a mean ovary weight of 23 g (2-237 g). There tucky (Tennessee River Mile 22) south to Pick- were no significant differences between fish with wick Dam (TRM 207) in Tennessee. Area 1 and without A. amiuri for lengths, weights, or (TRM 22-66) was characterized as lacustrine; ovary weights (P < 0.05). Acetodextra amiuri area 2 (TRM 66-116) was transitional between was found in ovaries before and after spawning. areas 1 and 3; area 3 (TRM 116-207) was narrow Channel catfish spawn in June and July (Marzolf, CCooppyyrriigghhtt ©© 22001111,, TThhee HHeellmmiinntthhoollooggiiccaall SSoocciieettyy ooff WWaasshhiinnggttoonn 148 1957). The highest prevalences in hosts were 70% man, 1967). During the present study, 190 ma- in June (area 3) and 50% in July (area 2). Lower ture female blue catfish were also examined. prevalences, ranging from 0% to 33%, were ob- Acetodextra amiuri was not observed in any blue served in individual areas in other collection catfish examined. Why A. amiuri does not par- months. The prevalences of A. amiuri and sam- asitize blue catfish is enigmatic. ple sizes of females in each area from April The pathogenicity of A. amiuri on channel cat- through October were: 31.0% for area 3 (33 fish), fish is unknown, but Perkins (1956) and Hoffman 21.1% for area 2 (19 fish), and 3.4% for area 1 (1979) indicated it has the potential for reducing (29 fish). The number of channel catfish infected channel catfish reproduction by damaging ovar- with A. amiuri was lower in the lacustrine than ian tissue and eggs. the riverine area of Kentucky Lake. Monthly Literature Cited prevalences for the 3 areas combined were: 0 for April and May (15 fish), 41.1% for June (17 fish), Aliff, J. V. 1977. Digenetic trematodes from Ken- 37.5% for July (8 fish), 8.7% for August (23 fish), tucky fishes. Transactions of the Kentucky Acad- emy of Science 38:1-14. 11.1% for September (9 fish), and 11.1 % for Oc- Edwards, R. W., J. P. Harley, and J. C. Williams. tober (9 fish). 1977. Parasites of channel catfish from the Ken- Several hundred A. amiuri were observed per tucky River, with a comparative note on the Ohio ovary. Although intensity was not measured for River. Transactions of the Kentucky Academy of all fish, over 500 adult A. amiuri were observed Science 38:132-135. Hoffman, G. L. 1967. Parasites of North American in 1 ovary that was preserved. This observation Freshwater Fishes. University of California Press, is consistent with the findings of Warner and Berkeley. 486 pp. Hubert (1975) and Perkins (1956) who some- . 1979. Helminthic parasites. Pages 40—48 in times found more than 1,000 adult A. amiuri in J. A. Plumb, ed. Principal Diseases of Farm-raised Catfish. Southern Cooperative Series Number 225, a single ovary. Edwards et al. (1977) reported a Auburn, Alabama. low prevalence (1.0%) in channel catfish from Marzolf, R. C. 1957. The reproduction of channel the Kentucky River with few A. amiuri per host. catfish in Missouri ponds. Journal of Wildlife They did not separate mature females from the Management 21:22-28. total number of females and males. Perkins, K. W. 1956. Studies on the morphology of Acetodextra amiuri (Stafford) (Trematoda: Het- Acetodextra amiuri parasitizes many ictalurids erophyidae). American Midland Naturalist 55:131- (Perkins, 1956; Hoffman, 1967; Aliff, 1977) in- 161. cluding: channel catfish; yellow bullhead, Icta- Warner, M. C., and W. A. Hubert. 1975. Note on lurus natalus; black bullhead, Ictalurus melas; the occurrence of Acetodextra amiuri (Stafford) (Trematoda: Heterophyidae) in channel catfish brown bullhead, Ictalurus nebulosus; stone cat, from the Tennessee River. Journal of Wildlife Dis- Noturus flavus\d tadpole madtom, Noturus eases 11:37. gyrinus. Acetodextra amiuri has not been re- ported from blue catfish, Ictalurus furcatus (Hoff- CCooppyyrriigghhtt ©© 22001111,, TThhee HHeellmmiinntthhoollooggiiccaall SSoocciieettyy ooff WWaasshhiinnggttoonn