Cycle évolutif de Bucephalus anguillae Spakulová, Macko, Berrilli & Dezfuli, 2002 (Digenea, Bucephalidae) parasite de Anguilla anguilla (L.)

Abstract

The species of Bucephalus from the eel Anguilla anguilla of the north-eastern Tunisian lagoons was identified as B. anguillae which was recently described by Spakulová et al. (2002) from the Adriatic coast of Italy. In order to confirm that this eel digenean is distinct from B. polymorphus von Baer, 1827 present in other freshwater fishes, we investigated the life-cycle of this species. Surveys in the wild and experimental studies have shown that the life-cycle of B. anguillae is completed in brackish environments, with the lamellibranch Abra tenuis as the first intermediate host and the cyprinodontid fish Aphanius fasciatus as the second intermediate host. This life-cycle differs from that of B. polymorphus and can be considered as an additional argument for the distinction of these two morphologically similar species.