Bull 51 Azhar A. Al-Moussawi & Hany S. Al-Hamdany Bull. Iraq nat. Hist. Mus. (2015) 13 (3): 51-58 PARASITIC HELMINTHS OF THE STARLING STURNUS VULGARIS LINNAEUS, 1758 IN BAGHDAD CITY, CENTRAL IRAQ Azhar Ahmed Al-Moussawi* and Hany Saber Al-Hamdany Iraq Natural History Museum- University of Baghdad, Bab Al-Muadham *azhar.nhm@gmail.com, ahmeda_09@yahoo.com ABSTRACT Twenty-two of the Starling Sturnus vulgaris Linnaeus, 1758 were collected in Baghdad city during the period from January to September, 2014, and examined for endoparasites. Ten (45.45%) were found infected with either the cestode Passerilepis crenata (Goeze, 1782) (31.81%) or the nematode Dispharynx nasuta (Rudolphi, 1819) (13.63 %). Morphometric and meristic features for these worms were expressed. D. nasuta is recorded here for the first time from S. vulgaris for Iraq. Key words: Starling, Sturnus vulgaris, Passerilepis crenata, Dispharynx nasuta, Baghdad, Iraq. INTRODUCTION The worldwide spread Starling Sturnus vulgaris Linnaeus, 1758 is native in Africa, Asia and Europe (Linz et al., 2007). It is a common winter visitor in Iraq (Allouse, 1962 and Salim et al. (2006). It harbors and spreads parasites for other birds (Pearl, et al., 1915). The widespread cestode Passerilepis crenata (Goeze, 1782), which usually infects land birds, was recorded from Sturnus in Africa, Asia, Europe and Australia (Yamaguti, 1959). In Iraq, many helminthes were isolated from S. vulgaris: the cestode Choanotaenia musculosa by Molan et al. (1986), the cestodes Dilepis longisaccata; D. undula and Passerilepis acollaris by Sawada et al. (1987), the nematode Diplotriaena sturni by Chabaud and Mohammad (1988), the nematode Microtetrameres inermis and the acanthocephala Prosthorhynchus gracile by Abdullah et al. (1993), the cestode Passerilepis crenata was isolated by (Abdullah et al., 1993; Abdal-Razak, 1998 and Abdulabas, 2005), also the trematode Brachylaema fuscata, the cestode Choanotaenia muscolosa, the nematode Diplotriaena tricuspus and the acanthocephalan Plagiorhynchus sp. were isolated by Saeed et al. (2003) and the nematode Diplotriaena tricuspus by Abdulabas and Hammadi (2008). The cosmopolitan nematode Dispharynx nasuta, found parasitizing several orders of birds: Passeriformes, Galliformes and Columbiformes with widespread geographical distribution: Asia, America and Europe (Goble and Kutz, 1945; Anderson, 2000). In Iraq, D. nasuta was previously isolated from local chickens in Al-Diwaniya by Al-Mayali (2009) and from Passer domesticus biblicus in Baghdad by Mohammad and Al-Moussawi (2012). This paper aims to throw light on the parasitic helminthes in S. vulgaris which collected in Baghdad city. 52 Parasitic Helminths of the Starling Sturnus vulgaris MATERIALS AND METHODES Twenty-two specimens of the Starling S. vulgaris were collected in Baghdad city by mist net during the period from January to September, 2014. Birds were identified according to Allouse (1962) and Salim et al. (2006), dissected and the recovered elementary canals were searched carefully for the nematodes and cestodes. The recovered nematodes were washed thoroughly with normal saline then kept in 70% alcohol and cleared with lactophenol before examining, cestodes were stained with acetocarmine, dehydrated with graduated alcohol concentrations, fixed on slides with Canada balsam. Parasites identified according to Yamaguti (1959, 1961) and York and Maplestone (1962). Measurements are in millimeters given as means followed by the range in parentheses, calculated using ocular and stage micrometers. Micrographs were taken with digital camera Infinity lite-K100 attached to compound microscope Micros MCX100. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION The results of examining 22 starlings for endoparasites showed that ten (45.45%) were infected with either the cestode P. crenata (Goeze, 1782) or the nematode D. nasuta. Passerilepis crenata (Goeze, 1782) (Fig.1A, B, C&D) Synonyms: Hymenolepis phasianina Fuhrman, 1907 (EUNIS, 2014), Mayhewia serpentulus Sehrank, 1788 (Spassky and Spasskaya, 1964). Seven (31.81%) of S. vulgaris found infected with twenty P. crenata. Small to medium cestode, 10.83 (8.93-13.3) long. Head 0.140 (0.10-0.15) long, 0.185 (0.17-0.21) wide. Suckers unarmed 0.084 (0.073-0.097) long, 0.08 (0.06-0.10) in diameter. Neck 0.261 (0.12-0.288) long. Rostellum with 10 small wrench-shaped hooks, each 0.024 (0.020-0.0264) long. Rostellar sac 0.120 (0.100-0.126) long, 0.084 (0.080 -0.120) wide. Cirrus sac on one side, opens in the half of the segment 0.20 (0.164-0.210) long, 0.022 (0.019-0.026) in diameter. Three testis, arranged in a triangle. The lobed ovary is located in the middle of the segment almost 0.082 (0.068-0.089) long, 0.098 (0.065-0.010) wide. Dispharynx nasuta (Rudolphi, 1819) (Fig.2 A, B & C) Synonyms: D. spiralis Molin, 1858; Filaria nasuta (Rudolphi, 1819) Schneider, 1866, Spiroptera nasuta Rudolphi, 1819 and Acuaria (Dispharynx) nasuta (Rudolphi, 1819) Railliet, Henry and Sisoff, 1912 (Goble and Kutz, 1945). Only three starlings (13.63%) found infected with three females of D. nasuta. Body stout, two pseudolabia present, four recurrent cordons, beginning at dorsal and ventral sides of oral opening, extending posteriorly to posterior part of muscular esophagus, recurrent anteriorly to anterior part of muscular esophagus. Buccal capsule cylindrical, transversely striated. Esophagus consisting of two parts, short anterior muscular and long posterior glandular (Yamaguti, 1961; Zhang et al., 2004). Body 5.510 (3.81-7.34) long. 0.403 (0.306-0.533) wide. Buccal capsule 0.108 (0.102- 0.121) long, 0.021 (0.020-0.022) wide. Ascending cordon 0.203 (0.222- 0.247) long. Muscular esophagus 0.516 (0.431-0.732) long, 0.078 (0.073-0.085) wide. Glandular esophagus 1.602 (1.294-1.74) long, 0.187 (0.140-0.225). Nerve ring at distance of 0.310 (0.228- 0.346) from anterior end. Vulva in the posterior part of the body. Eggs thick shelled 0.030 (0.230-032) long, 0.021 (0.022-0.0216) wide. Anus at a distance of 0.121 (0.103-0.127) from body posterior end. Tail short, 133(114-156) long. 53 Azhar A. Al-Moussawi & Hany S. Al-Hamdany Examination for stomach contents of S. vulgaris reveals presence of fruits, grain seedlings and arthropods remains (insect: flies, bees, bugs and beetles) which acts as intermediate hosts for D. nasuta and P. crenata (Alicata, 1964; Gubanyi et al.,1993; Anderson, 2000 and Halajian et al., 2011). This explain being S. vulgaris a host for these helminths in the present study. Severe infections with D. nasuta may lead to the host death, as cleared in the results of Goble and Kutz (1945) who found that 32.5% of infected cases in the adults of grouse were fetal. Earlier, two species belong to the genus Passerilepis found in S. vulgaris in Iraq, P. acollaris reported by Sawada et al. (1987) at Arbil Province and P. crenata which isolated by Abdullah et al. (1993) at Basrah Province with lower infection rate than it in the present study. To the best of our knowledge, D. nasuta is recorded here for the first time from S. vulgaris for Iraq. LITERATURE CITED Abdal-Razak, A. T. 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(1959) Systema Helminthum Vol. II The cestodes of vertebrates. Intersci.Publi., Inc., New York: 860 pp. Yamaguti, S. (1961) Systema Helminthum Vol. III Parts 1& 2. Nematodes of vertebrates. Intersci.Publi., Inc., New York. Yorke, W. and Maplestone, P. A. (1962) The nematode parasites of vertebrates. Haf. Pub.Com., New York: 536 pp. Zhang, L., Brooks, D. R. and Causey, D. (2004) Two species of Synhimantus (Dispharynx) Railliet, Henry and Sisoff, 1912 (Nematoda: Acuarioidea: Acuariidae), in passerine birds from the area De Conservacion Guanacaste, Costa Rica. J. Parasitol., 90 (5): 1133-1138. 56 Parasitic Helminths of the Starling Sturnus vulgaris Fig.1 : Photomicrographs of Passerilepis crenata (Goeze, 1782) A- Anterior end, B- Rotellum with rostellar hooks. C- Mature segment. D- Gravid segment. 57 Azhar A. Al-Moussawi & Hany S. Al-Hamdany Fig. 2: Photomicrographs of female of Dispharynx nasuta (Rudolphi, 1819) A- Cephalic region with cordons. B- Vulva region. C- Posterior end. 58 Parasitic Helminths of the Starling Sturnus vulgaris Bull. Iraq nat. Hist. Mus. (2015) 13 (3): 51-58 وسط العراق, الديدان املتطفلة للزرزور الشائع في مدينة بغداد و هاني صابر ألحمداني* سوسسو املأزهار أحمد -باب املعظم -جامعة بغداد -مركز بحسوث و متحف التاريخ الطبيعي العراق -بغداد azhar.nhm@gmail.com , ahmeda_09@yahoo.com: *البريد الالكتروني الخالصة الذ تم Sturnus vulgaris Linnaeus, 1758أظهرت نتائج البحث عن الديدان املتطفلة في الزرزور الشائع فردا منه بنسبة 44من مجمسوع 01إصابة 4102جمعه في مدينة بغداد للفترة ما بين كانسون الثاني وأيلسول من العام او %( 10.10)بنسبة إصابة Passerilepis crenata (Goeze,1782)اما بالدودة الشريطية %(24.24)إصابة بلغت %(. 01.31)بنسبة إصابة Dispharynx nasuta (Rudolphi, 1819)بالدودة الخيطية .Dيعتبرهذا هسوالتسجيل ألول مرة للدودة الخيطية . اسة واملعدودة للديدان الطفيليةتم تقديم الصفات املق nasuta من الزرزور الشائع في العراق.