Helminth parasites of brown trout (Salmo Trutta L.) in Canterbury, New Zealand

Abstract

Samples of 57 sea trout from the mouth of the Rakaia River, 30 trout from the Selwyn River, and 16 trout from the South Branch of the Waimakariri River were examined for helminth parasites. While trout from the mouth of the Rakaia River were commonly parasitised, only two specimens of the nematode larva Eustrongylides were recovered from the Selwyn trout and no helminths were found in the other river sample. The following species were found in the Rakaia trout: Trematoda: Derogenes various, Lecithocladium seriollelae, and L. magnacetabulum; Cestoda: Tetra‐phyllidean plerocercoids, (? Pelichnibothrium); Nematoda: Contracaecum aduncum, Hedruris spinigera; Acanthocephala: Corynosoma sp. Post larvae of the latter are briefly described. The relationships of most of these species, when traced, showed the parasites to be mainly non‐specific. This feature, together with the overall small number of parasites from the three different localities, is characteristic of the parasitic fauna of an introduced host. © Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.