Dactylogyrus amphibothrium Factsheet
Wagener or Wegener, 1857
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Scientific Name: Dactylogyrus amphibothrium
Common Name: (monogenetic) fluke
Taxonomy: available through ITIS
Identification: This monogenetic fluke exhibits an anterior adhesive apparatus for attachment to its host. This region is lined with spikes and tegumentary sacs covered in a lining of microvilli (tiny finger-like projections) and some cilia. Dactylogyrids generally are equipped with 7 pairs of hooks and 2–4 eye spots at the anterior end. There are also two pads enclosing glandular organs on the ventral surface of D. amphibothrium that are unique to this species (El-Naggar and Kearn 1980; El-Naggar and Kearn 1983; Post 1983).
Size: D. amphibothrium can range from 0.3–0.7 mm in length and 0.07–0.14 mm in width (Gussev 1985; Wu et al. 2000).
Native Range: This is a Eurasian species (Shulman 1961; U. S. Department of the Interior 1993; Cone et al. 1994).
Nonindegenous Occurences: D. amphibothrium was first recorded on Eurasian ruffe (Gymnocephalus cernuus) in 1992 in Lake Superior and in a tributary, the St. Louis River. It probably first arrived in the mid-1980s to the Great Lakes basin (U. S. Department of the Interior 1993; Cone et al. 1994).
Means of Introduction: D. amphibothrium very likely arrived in the Great Lakes basin on Eurasian ruffe delivered in ballast water (U. S. Department of the Interior 1993; Cone et al. 1994).
Status: Established.
Ecology: D. amphibothrium is a parasite occurring on gills of fish in the genus Gymnocephalus in Eurasia (Cone et al. 1994). It has also been recorded on Cobitis aurata bulgarica in the Danube (Kakacheva-Avramova 1977) and on fishes in the genera Leuciscus and Tinca (Gibson et al. 1996).
In Lake Superior, 5–45 parasites occur per ruffe and are generally found between the secondary lamellae (gill filaments) and halfway along the length of the first lamella (Cone et al. 1994). Attachment often occurs on the upper or dorsal parts of gills to maximize surface area and oxygen flow, while still providing some shelter from the highest water velocities. Individual parasites reach the gills as the fish takes in water, or they affix themselves to the side of the fish and move to the gills independently (Wootten 1974). Most populations of this parasite can overwinter on fish gills (Valtonen et al. 1990).
Dactyolgyrids are generally oviparous, have no uterus, and only contain one egg at a time in an ootype structure (Post 1983). There is no free-swimming larval stage so young grow to almost adult size inside the parent (El-Naggar and Kearn 1983). In populations in Finland and the former U.S.S.R. this parasite produces 2 generations per year, the first with a life cycle occurring from June to August or September and the second from August or September to May or June. The summer generation lays around 400 eggs and the winter generation lays around 850 eggs. The vast majority of eggs do not survive and maturation of individuals may be linked to increasing water temperature. (Kashkovskii 1982; Valtonen et al. 1990)
Impact of Introduction:
A) Realised: None known.
B) Potential: Although D. amphibothrium has been reported from species other than Gymnocephalus, as noted above, it is still considered primarily specific to this genus. However, yellow perch (Perca flavescens) could be at risk for infection by this monogenean parasite in the Great Lakes, although no such infection has been noted to date (Cone et al. 1994).
Remarks:
Voucher Specimens:
References:
Cone, D., T. Eurell, and V. Beasley, 1994. A report of Dactylogyrus amphibothrium (Monogenea) on the gills of European ruffe in western Lake Superior. The Journal of Parasitology 80(3):476-478.
El-Naggar, M. M. and G. C. Kearn. 1980. Ultrastructural observations on the anterior apparatus in the monogeneans Dactylogyrus amphibothrium and Dactylogyrus hemiamphibothrium. Zeitschrift fuer Parasitenkunde 61(3):223-242.
El-Naggar, M. M. and G. C. Kearn. 1983. The tegument of the monogenean gill parasites Dactylogyrus amphibothrium and D. hemiamphibothrium. International Journal of Parasitology 13(6):579-592.
Gibson, D. I., T. A. Timofeeva, and P. I Gerasev. 1996. A catalogue of the nominal species of the monogenean genus Dactylogyrus Diesing, 1850 and their host genera. Systematic Parasitology 35:3-48.
Gussev, A. V. 1985. Handbook for Identifying Parasites of Fish of the Fauna of the USSR. Publishing House “Hayka”, Leningrad, USSR. Vol. II. 424 pp. (in Russian)
Kakacheva-Avramova, D. 1977. Study on the helminth content of fishes from the Bulgarian part of the Danube. Khelmintologiya 3:20-45.
Kashikovskii, V. V. 1982. Seasonal changes in the age structure of Dactylogyrus amphibothrium population (Monogenea, Dactylogyridae). Parazitologiya (St. Petersburg) 16(1):35-40.
Post, G. 1983. Textbook of Fish Health. T. F. H. Publications, Inc. Ltd., The British Crown Company of Hong Kong. 256 pp.
Shulman, S. S. 1961. Zoogeography of parasites of USSR freshwater fishes. Pp. 180 – 229 in Dogiel, V. A., G. K. Petrusheveski, and Y. I. Polyanski, eds. Parasitology of Fishes. Oliver and Boyd, Edinburgh and London.
U. S. Department of the Interior. 1993. Research Information Bulletin, U. S. Department of the Interior, National Biological Survey No. 97. 2 pp.
Valtonen, E. T., M. Prost, and R. Rahkonen. 1990. Seasonality of two gill monogeneans from two freshwater fish from an oligotrophic lake in northeast Finland. International Journal for Parasitology 20(1):101-107.
Wootten, R. 1974. The spatial distribution of Dactylogyrus amphibothrium on the gills of ruffe Gymnocephalus cernua and its relation to the relative amounts of water passing over the parts of the gills. Journal of Helminthology 48(3):167-174.
Wu, B., S. Long, W. Wang et al. 2000. Fauna Sinica, Platyhelminthes, Monogenea. Science Press, Beijing, China. 756 pp. (in Chinese)
Other Resources
Authors: Rebekah M. Kipp
Revision Date: June 13, 2007
Citation for this Information: Rebekah M. Kipp. 2007. GLANSIS.
Group: Parasite/Invertebrate – Group not available
Lake(s): Lake Superior Drainage
Genus: Dactylogyrus
Species: amphibothrium
Common Name: (monogenetic) fluke
Status: Established
Freshwater/Marine: All
Pathway: Shipping (arrived with Eurasian ruffe in ballast water)
Exotic/Transplant: Exotic
For the current distribution map and collection information, please use the database at: http://www.glerl.noaa.gov/res/Programs/ncrais/nas_database.html