Developmental stages of Haemogregarina delagei in the leech Oxytonostoma typica

Abstract

Haemogregarine infections in little skates, Raja erinacea, were assessed for a period of approximately 1 year. Prevalence of Haemogregarina delagei in little skates varied seasonally between 77 and 91%. Prevalence of leeches (Oxytonostoma typica) varied between 9 and 18%. One leech was removed from a little skate (from Passamaquoddy Bay, New Brunswick) heavily infected with H. delagei. Imprints made from the leech's digestive tissue contained haemogregarine oocysts that produced 16–32 sporozoites, and meronts with 4 merozoites. The latter were also found in imprints made from salivary tissues.