Genetic diversity of freshwater leeches in Lake Gusinoe (eastern Siberia, Russia).

The study of leeches from Lake Gusinoe and its adjacent area offered us the possibility to determine species diversity. As a result, an updated species list of the Gusinoe Hirudinea fauna (Annelida, Clitellata) has been compiled. There are two orders and three families of leeches in the Gusinoe area: order Rhynchobdellida (families Glossiphoniidae and Piscicolidae) and order Arhynchobdellida (family Erpobdellidae).

Relationships between uterus and eggs in cestodes from different taxa, as revealed by scanning electron microscopy.

Uterine organization and interaction with developing eggs in Tetrabothrius erostris (Tetrabothriidea), Nippotaenia mogurndae (Nippotaeniidea), Arostrilepis tenuicirrosa, and Monocercus arionis (Cyclophyllidea), cestodes belonging to three different orders, were investigated by scanning electron microscopy. The interactions were traced from sexually mature to gravid proglottids for all species. Pieces of evidence of interactions among these species include specific tight contacts between microlamellae of the uterine epithelium and the egg capsule, networks of fibrils between eggs and uterus, or numerous branched diverticula of the uterine wall that surround eggs or combinations of these.

Supplementary studies and molecular data on Henneguya cerebralis Pronin, 1972 (Myxozoa: Myxosporea), a parasite from Kosogol grayling Thymallus arcticus nigrescens in Mongolia.

Henneguya cerebralis Pronin, 1972 (Myxozoa) was described from Kosogol graylings Thymallus arcticus nigrescens Dorogostaisky, 1923 in Lake Khovsgol (Mongolia) in 1972. H. cerebralis was redescribed using critical morphological features and 18S ribosomal DNA (rDNA) gene sequence.

New records of Lake Baikal leech fauna: species diversity and spatial distribution in Chivyrkuy Gulf.

The study of several Lake Baikal leech collections offered us the possibility to determine species diversity in the Chivyrkuy Gulf, the biggest one in the lake. As a result, the first information on the Chivyrkuy Hirudinea fauna (Annelida, Clitellata) has been revealed. There are two orders and four families of leeches in the Chivyrkuy Gulf: order Rhynchobdellida (families Glossiphoniidae and Piscicolidae) and order Arhynchobdellida (families Erpobdellidae and Haemopidae).

Leech-like parasites (Clitellata, Acanthobdellida) infecting native and endemic eastern Siberian salmon fishes.

Salmonoid fish bdellosis is caused by leech-like ectoparasites in the monogenetic order Acanthobdellida. Although Acanthobdella species have been known to infect several threatened species in Eurasia, little is known about their ecology and epidemiology. In this paper, we report on the mass affection (up to 70.