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The helminth parasites of the sheathbill, Chionis alba (Gmelin), and the diving petrels, Pelecanoides georgicus (Murphy and Harper) and P. urinatrix (Gmelin), at Bird Island, South Georgia

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  05 June 2009

I. C. Williams
Affiliation:
Department of Zoology, The University, Hull and
N. V. Jones
Affiliation:
Department of Zoology, The University, Hull and
M. J. Payne
Affiliation:
British Antarctic Survey, Monks Wood Experimental Station, Abbots Ripton, Huntingdon, England
C. Ellis
Affiliation:
Department of Zoology, The University, Hull and

Abstract

Twelve sheathbills, Chionis alba, 12 South Georgian diving petrels, Pelecanoides georgicus, and 5 common diving petrels, P. urinatrix, collected at Bird Island, South Georgia, were examined for helminth parasites. These appear to be the first helminthological examinations of birds from South Georgia. Eleven of the 12 sheathbills were infected with helminth parasites and the pattern of infection of adult male and female birds was similar. Five species of helminths were found in sheathbills, namely Gymnophallus dellciosus, Notocotylus chionis, Paramonostomum signiensis, Lateriporus australis and Corynosoma hammani. Two species, namely Tetrabothrius sp. and Stegophorus heardi, were found in both Pelecanoides georgicus and P. urinatrix.

The helminth parasites of whales and seals in the Antarctic and Subantarctic have been extensively studied, while in comparison those of birds from these regions have been neglected. As far as we are aware there are no previous reports on helminth parasites from the sheathbill, Chionis alba (Gmelin), the South Georgian diving petrel, Pelecanoides georgicus (Murphy and Harper), and the common diving petrel, P. urinatrix (Gmelin), from South Georgia.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1974

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References

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