Intestinal flukes recovered from a herring gull, Larus argentatus, in the Republic of Korea

Abstract

Trematode specimens were collected from the intestine of a herring gull, Larus argentatus, which was found in a critical condition on the shore of a small island (Yubu-do, Seocheon-gun, Chungcheongnam-do) located at the western coast of the Korean peninsula. Total 11 specimens of intestinal flukes, including 3 Cryptocotyle lingua (Heterophyidae), 1 Himasthla alincia (Echinostomatidae), 5 Cardiocephaloides medioconiger (Strigeidae), and 2 Diplostomum spathaceum (Diplostomidae), were recovered. C. lingua was morphologically characterized by the presence of a large ventrogenital apparatus and 2 obliquely tandem testes. H. alincia had an elongated body and a head collar equipped with 31 collar spines. C. medioconiger had a bisegmented body and a voluminous copulatory bursa containing the seminal vesicle and ejaculatory duct. D. spathaceum also had a bisegmented body and its vitellaria extended up to the anterior border of the tribocytic organ. It is of note that C. lingua is potentially zoonotic that can occur in birds and humans. Three of them, i.e., C. lingua, C. medioconiger, and D. spathaceum, are new trematode fauna in Korea. Studies on trematode fauna of migratory birds should be continued in Korea.