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The first record of Tetragonurus cuvieri Risso, 1810 off Calabrian coast (Southern Italy, Central Mediterranean) is reported. The specimen, a male of 361 mm total length, was found at a depth of 7 m during a scientific visual census research activity, in March 2017. The sighting was located off the Tyrrhenian coast of Calabria (Paola: 39.355453N, 16.029192E). The present finding represents the 1st documented record for the Tyrrhenian coast of the Calabria region.

The lesser spotted dogfish Scyliorhinus canicula has an important role in the trophic web of demersal fish communities, representing an important trophic link between invertebrates and larger predatory fish. Despite its scientific interest, there is still scarce knowledge about many biological and ecological aspects of this shark. Parasitological, hematological and ecotoxicological analyses were carried out on a population of lesser spotted dogfish S. canicula from central Mediterranean. Parasitological analyses highlighted a poor helminthic community, highly dominated by a single taxon represented by the cestode Nybelinia sp. and no differences between females and males were observed. Hematological analyses showed that the number of leukocytes was significantly lower in the sharks that resulted parasitized: this was probably due to the ability of some trace elements (like As) in weakening of the immune system, exposing the animals to a higher risk of parasite infection. Trace elements analyses were performed in vertebrae, skin, and liver tissues and the most abundant and potentially toxic elements were: Pb, As, Cd, Mn, Zn, Ni and Fe. Pb, As and Mn showed the highest concentrations in vertebrae due to the diet of the sharks; Fe and Ni in the skin, due to their presence in the water column where animals were collected, and Cd and Zn in the liver, linked to their ability to induce trace elements binding metallothionein proteins (MT), which can reduce the concentration of Cd. These results confirm that elasmobranchs, being predators at the apex of the marine food chain, act as final receptors for a series of polluting elements regularly discharged into the sea that could weak their immune system increasing the parasitic load. For that reason, they could be considered as bioindicator of the health status of marine ecosystems.

In this contribution the checklist of chondrichthyans of Calabria (Central Mediterranean, southern Italy) is reported. Data presented is derived from twenty years of opportunistic and active surveys from 2000 to 2020. A total of 55 species of chondrichthyans is present in Calabrian seas: 33 sharks, 20 rays, and 2 chimaeras. These species represent approximately 62% of the total reported for the Mediterranean. Approximately 71% of Calabrian species have been reported in the Tyrrhenian Sea, 49% in the Ionian Sea, and 33% in the Strait of Messina. According to IUCN criteria, new records of Endangered and Critically Endangered species (i.e., Carcahrodon carcharias [Linnaeus, 1758], Lamna nasus [Bonnaterre, 1788], Cetorhinus maximus [Gunnerus, 1765], Mobula mobular [Bonnaterre, 1788], Sphyrna zygaena [Linnaeus, 1758]) are reported, together with the first record of Raya brachyura Lafont, 1873 for the Ionian coasts and probably third confirmed record of the rare chimaera Hydrolagus mirabilis (Collett, 1904) for the Mediterranean.

Bioaccumulation of 13 trace elements in the livers of 38 Pelophylax sinkl. hispanicus (Ranidae) and its helminth communities were studied and compared among three sites, each with a different degree of pollution along River Neto (south Italy) during September, 2014. Trace element concentrations in water and liver were measured using inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry. For most elements, the highest concentration was recorded in the frogs inhabiting the third site, the one with the highest degree of pollution. The trend of trace element concentration in the liver can be represented as follows: Cu > Zn > Mn > Se > Cr. Concentrations of some elements in water and liver samples were significantly different among the three sites and this is evidenced by the bioaccumulation in the frogs. Four species of helminths, all belonging to Nematoda, were found: Rhabdias sp., Oswaldocruzia filiformis (Goeze, 1782), Cosmocerca ornata (Dujarden, 1845), Seuratascaris numidica (Seurat, 1917). The parasite survey presents an important difference of prevalence and average number of helminths in frogs between the three sites. Correlating parasitological and ecotoxicological data showed a strong positive correlation between prevalence and number of parasites with some trace elements such as Mn, Co, Ni, As, Se, and Cd.

Helminth parasites were studied in the bank vole, Clethrionomys glareolus, (Rodentia, Arvicolinae), in southern Italy (Calabrian region). In total, 193 C. glareolus from three different areas captured between 1982 and 2001 were examined and nine species of helminths were recovered: one trematode (Corrigia vitta), four cestodes (Taenia martis larvae, Mesocestoides sp. larvae, Paranoplocephala omphalodes, Catenotaenia henttoneni) and four nematodes (Aonchotheca annulosa, Mastophorus muris, He‐ligmosomoides glareoli, Syphacia petrusewiczi). This is the first record of the bank vole helminth fauna in Italy. The study of the helminth community of this host reveals no quantitative differences between sexes and habitat influences, but the data show an isolationist character of the community due to low diversity and reduced interactions between species. The geographic localization of Calabria, the limit of the range of this species in Europe, could affect the low species richness found in C. glareolus in...

The helminth parasite community of Talpa romana in Calabria (southern Italy ) was studied. The helminth fauna comprised six species: Ityogonimus ocreatus (Goeze 1782), Staphylocistis bacillaris (Goeze 1782), Capillaria talpae (Siebold 1850), Parastrongyloides winchesi (Morgan 1928), Spirura talpae (Gmelin 1790), and Tricholinstowia linstowi (Travassos 1918). All species except S. bacillaris were dominant in this community. The helminths are all stenoxenous species of Paleartic Talpa spp. This paper is the first quantitative approach to the helminth community of T. romana and reveals typical characteristics of an isolationist community. This can be explained by genetic and paleogeographic events.

A helminthological survey was performed on 143 brown rats (Rattus norvegicus) from the city of Palermo (Italy). The overall prevalence of helminth infection was 98.60 %. The following parasites were found: Brachylaima sp. (prevalence 8.39 %) (Trematoda); Taenia taeniaeformis larvae (11.89 %), Rodentolepis nana (13.29 %), Hymenolepis diminuta (24.48 %) (Cestoda); Gongylonema sp., (4.90 %), Syphacia muris (8.39 %), Nippostrongylus brasiliensis (18.88 %), Eucoleus gastricus (30.07 %), Mastophorus muris (30.77 %), Capillaria hepatica (54.55 %), Heterakis spumosa (82.52 %) (Nematoda) and one acanthocephalan (0.70 %). The species found in males were also present in females, with the exception of the acanthocephalan. No significant differences were found between males and females in prevalence (P%) or mean infection intensity (MI). However, a significant correlation between both P% and MI, as well as host age, was observed in some helminth species. Hosts were infected by one to six helminth species (median = 3). This is the first report from Sicily of helminths in R. norvegicus.

During the 2000-2009, a survey study on the spatiotemporal patterns of distribution of large predatory sharks was carried out in the Calabria region. A total of 12 species were recorded and among them the blue shark Prionace glauca and the bluntnose sixgill shark Hexanchus griseus were the most common ones. Also of interest was the frequency of species such as Carcharodon carcharias, Sphyrna zygaena and Cetorhinus maximus. 57% of all reported records derived from the Tyrrhenian side of the region and 43% on the Ionian side. A significant relationship between season of the year versus number of records was found, but this could be related to the small number of observers that were active during the winter months. The presence of Sphyrna lewini is reported for the study area; this species was previously recorded only in the western part of the Mediterranean Sea. This paper also provides evidence of the second and first documented accounts of white shark predation upon Tursiops truncatus and Stenella coeruleoalba, respectively, in the Mediterranean Sea. The recovering of Ionian Sphyrna zygaena populations and the declining of Lamna nasus populations were also noted., U razdoblju od 2000 do 2009, provedeno je istraživanje prostorno-vremenskih obrazaca raspodjele velikih grabežljivih morskih pasa u talijanskoj regiji Calabria. Ukupno je zabilježeno 12 vrsta, te su među njima najčešće bili zastupljeni morski pas modrulj Prionace glauca i glavonja Hexanchus griseus. Zanimljiva je i učestalost vrsta kao što su velika bijela psina Carcharodon carcharias, mlat Sphyrna zygaena i psina golema Cetorhinus maximus. Od svih prijavljenih nalaza 57% je ostvareno na Tirenskoj strani regije, a 43% na Jonskoj strani. Ustanovljena je značajna povezanost između godišnjih doba u odnosu na broj zapisa, ali to bi moglo bi se moglo odnositi na mali broj promatrača koji su bili aktivni tijekom zimskih mjeseci. Prisutnost Sphyrna lewini je ustanovljena na istraživanom području: ova vrsta je prethodno bila zabilježena samo u zapadnom dijelu Sredozemnog mora.U radu se također navodi prvi i drugi dokumentirani nalaz bijelog morskog psa kao grabežljivca vrste dobrog dupina Tursiops truncatus i plavobijelog dupina Stenella coeruleoalba u Sredozemnom moru. Također je primjećen oporavak jonske populacije mlata Sphyrna zygaena i pad populacije kučine Lamna nasus.

We investigated the endo- and ectoparasitic fauna of 45 specimens of Rattus rattus and 44 specimens of Mus musculus collected in Sicily. This study is the second survey of the parasitic fauna of these 2 rodent species on this Mediterranean island. Four nematode species, 1 cestode species, 2 flea species, and 1 tick species were recovered from R. rattus. Six nematode species, 3 cestode species, 1 digenean species, 1 flea species, and 1 tick species were recovered from M. musculus. As noted on other western Mediterranean islands, both rodent species show a depauperate parasite species richness in comparison with continental situations.

A new species of an oxyurid nematode is described from the large intestine of the lacertid lizard Podarcis sicula (Rafinesque, 1810) (Reptilia: Lacertidae) from Italy. Spauligodon aloisei n. sp. differs from other species of the genus by a combination of morphological and metrical characters, including a spined tail in males and females, absence of a spicule in males, arrangement of the last pair of the male caudal papillae, vulva location, and egg morphology. The species most similar to S. aloisei n. sp. is Spauligodon caspius Annayev, 1987, described from Tenuidactylus (=Gymnodactylus) caspius in Turkmenistan. Tail length and location of the excretory pore and vulvar opening separate S. caspius from S. aloisei n. sp. This article increases the number of species of this genus from reptiles in the Paleartic Realm to 19.