Moaciria sphenomorphi n. sp. is described from the skink Sphenomorphus gracilipes, Moaciria butleri n. sp. from the elapid snake Pseudechis australis (both from Western Australia), and Moaciria etnae n. sp. from the python Liasis childreni from Queensland. These species differ from one another and from M. alvarengai and M. icosiensis principally in the number and disposition of body and caudal papillae, and from M. freitasi in possessing caudal alae. M. butleri and M. etnae also differ from the other species in possessing a conspicuous three-pointed internal lip tooth, and all three new species possess a small median papilla within the posterior rim of the precloacal sucker.

Goezia lacerticola sp. n. infects the American alligator, Alligator mississippiensis, in Florida. The stomach ascaridoid is characterized by possessing 28 – 32 pairs of caudal papillae of which 4 are postcloacal, 2 are paracloacal, and the rest are precloacal; a body length of 3.9 – 8.2 mm, spicules 8 – 16% of the body length; and a length-ratio of the intestinal caecum to ventricular appendage of 1:2.1 – 4.6 mm. Its ventricular appendage consists of two longitudinal compartments.

Hypodontus macropi Mönnig, 1929, is redescribed and its taxonomic affinities discussed. H. macropi is recorded for the first time from Wallabia bicolor, Macropus robustus, M. fuliginosus, M. dorsalis, M. agilis and Thylogale billardierii. The method of attachment of the parasite and gross and histopathological changes associated with it are described. Free living larval stages are described. Experimental infestations were attempted but were not successful. Hypodountus thetidis Johnston and Mawson, 1939, is made a synonym of H. macropi.

A new flotation technique for the extraction of Toxocara eggs from soil has been devised. It has a fairly high recovery efficiency for Toxocara eggs, can be used for replicated quantitative experiments, and may also be used for recovery of other ascarid eggs from soil.

Cirkennedya porlockensis gen. et sp. nov. is described from the intestine of Mola mola off Porlock, Somerset, England. The Systematic position of this new genus is discussed. It appears to be the first example of the family Macroderoididae to be reported from a marine teleost host. The status of this family in relation to the Plagiorchiidae is briefly commented upon.

The compatibility between strains of Schistosoma mansoni from Egypt, Kenya, Sudan, Uganda, the West Indies, and Zaire (two strains which came from Katanga and from Kinshasa), and various species and strains of Biomphalaria, i.e., Biomphalaria pfeifferi, B. alexandrina, B. glabrata and B. camerunensis was investigated. Data as mortality, rate of infection of the surviving snails, duration of infection, cercarial production per day per positive snail, etc., were observed. The main emphasis was placed on determining the total cercarial production per 100 exposed snails for each snail population.

It was possible to infect all the tested populations of B. pfeifferi with the various strains of S. mansoni, but the observation as e.g. TCP/100 exposed snails varied greatly according to the population of snail and the strain of S. mansoni. The results for the remaining species of Biomphalaria varied greatly, depending on the combination, e.g. B. alexandrina was only susceptible to the local S. mansoni from Egypt.

The highest TCP/100 exposed snails was more than 1 million for the strains of S. mansoni from Egypt, Kenya and the West Indies in B. alexandrina, B. pfeifferi and B. glabrata, respectively. The next group, with a TCP/100 exposed snails on 7 – 800 000 consists of S. mansoni from Sudan, Uganda and Zaire (Katanga) all in B. pfeifferi. The last tested strain of S. mansoni, Zaire (Kinshasa) yielded a cercarial production on 500 000 per 100 exposed snails in B. pfeifferi and B. camerunensis.

The shortest prepatent period, 19 days, was observed for S. mansoni from Kinshasa, Zaire, in B. camerunensis, and the longest prepatent period, 25 days, was found for strains from Egypt and from the West Indies in B. alexandrina and B. glabrata, respectively.

In general, a very long duration of infection, lasting up to 200 days, was observed.

Out of a total of 282 soil samples obtained from public areas, 58 samples contained Toxocara spp. eggs. This gave an overall prevalence of 20.6%. Highway rest areas were contaminated and childrens sand boxes had the highest percentage of recovery of all.

Certain phosphatases have been localized by histochemical techniques in various tissues of a pigeon cestode, Raillietina (Raillietina) johri. Acid phosphatase (AcPase), alkaline phosphatase (AlPase) and adenosine triphosphatase (ATPase) were present in almost all structures: tegument; subtegumental muscles; subtegumental cells; excretory canal; tsetes; sperm ductules; vas deferens; cirrus sac; cirrus; ovary; receptaculum seminis; vagina; vitelline gland cells; oocytes; uterus; embryonated eggs. AlPase was absent in parenchyma, spermatocytes, spermatids and spermatozoa. AlPase activity was more intense in the tegument of mature gravid proglottides. AcPase and ATPase were visualized in various stages of spermatogenesis of the parasite. ATPase activity was also observed in chromosomes. 5'-nucleotidase (AMPase) activity was restricted to embryonated eggs only. Functional significance of these phosphatases is discussed.

Schistosoma bovis from Morocco was used in infection experiments with several populations of Bulinus truncatus. The snails from Libya, Malawi, Morocco and Senegal were very compatible with the schistosome since the infection rates were approximately 90%, the mortality was low, and a very high production of cercariae, approximately 1.2 million per 100 exposed snails, was observed. Only a very few B. truncatus (2n = 36) from Rhodesia became infected. B. permembranaceus and B. forskalii were refractory.

Asymphylodora fishelsoni sp. n. is described from the cyprinodontid fish, Aphanius dispar richardsoni, an endemic subspecies from a brackish water spring flowing into the Dead Sea at Ein Fashkha, Israel. The new species is closest to A. carpiae Szidat, 1943, but differs significantly in being less than half its size, and in having the vesicular pars prostatica in the form of a distinct chamber, the caeca always inflated (rather than narrow), the seminal vesicle entirely postacetabular (rather than overlapping the acetabulum) and occupying 40 – 48% of the cirrus sac length (rather than 80%), the cirrus overlapping the acetabulum (rather than being entirely sinistral to it) and occupying 44 – 50% of the cirrus sac length (rather than 18%), and the anterior part of the terminal organ representing 35 – 54% of the total length of this organ (rather than 22%). Positive allometric growth is shown by the hindbody, posttesticular body, and gonads, whereas the forebody, suckers, and pharynx are negative.

The prevalence of Capillaria hepatica (Bancroft, 1893) infection in a total of 2324 rats trapped from 25 localities in West Malaysia was 15.5%. Infection rates in males (16.0%) and females (15.1%) are similar. A significantly higher percentage of adults (18.1%) than young (7.7%) was infected. Capillaria hepatica infection rates amoung urban (0.7%) and jungle (0.0%) rats was very low as compared to field rats (17.7%) trapped from agricultural areas such as oil palm estates and rice growing areas.

Prevalence of C. hepatica infection in rats is not evenly distributed throughout West Malaysia. There seem to be localised foci of infection. In some areas as many as 77.8% of the adult rats are found to be infected while in other areas the same species of rats are found free of infection.

Six species of strigeoid trematodes are reported from Malaysia. One new genus and 3 new species are described: Apatemon (Apatemon) jamesi sp. n. (Strigeidae); cercaria Cotylurus sullivani sp. n. (Strigeidae); Neodiplostomum (Neodiplostomum) sp. (Diplostomatidae); Fibricola ramachandrani (Diplostomatidae); Pseudoscolopacitrema otteri gen. n. et sp. n. (Diplostomatidae); and cercaria Cyathocotyle malayi sp. n. (Cyathocotylidae). The life cycles of A. jamesi and C. malayi have also been investigated.

Progamotaenia gynandrolinearis sp. nov. is described from the small intestine of Lagorchestes conspicillatus Gould, 1842 from Barrow I., Western Australia. It is distinguished from other species by the small number of testes arranged in a single transverse row. Progamotaenia lagorchestis (Lewis, 1914) is redescribed. The name Progamotaenia thylogale sp. nov. is proposed for a second species described previously under the name P. lagorchestis. Progamotaenia zschokkei (Janicki, 1905), Progamotaenia festiva (Rudolphi, 1819) and Progamotaenia villosa (Lewis, 1914) were also found in L. conspicillatus.

Species of Cloacina Linstow, 1898 (Nematoda: Strongyloidea) are reported and/or described from the stomach of the macropodid marsupial Wallabia bicolor (Desmarest, 1804) collected in eastern Australia. Nematodes were examined from 26 hosts collected in 3 states and the number of species of Cloacina in any one host was 2 – 7. The following species were encountered: C. wallabiae Johnston and Mawson, 1939, C. gallardi Johnston and Mawson, 1940, C. edwardsi Mawson, 1972 and C. cornuta (Davey and Wood, 1938) the last named constituting a new host record. The following new species are described: C. mawsonae sp. nov., C. papillata sp. nov., C. annulata sp. nov., C. castor sp. nov. and C. pollux sp. nov.

During the period October 1972 to July 1973 inclusive, 450 pigs of various age groups, belonging mainly to the native breed (white variety), born and raised on the Jos Plateau, Nigeria, were examined for helminth infections. Post-mortem worm recovery indicated that 15 species of helminths were present: Hyostrongylus rubidus, Ascarops strongylina, Physocephalus sexalatus, Ascaris suum, Globocephalus urosubulatus, Strongyloides ransomi, Trichuris suis, Oesophagostomum quadrispinulatum, Oesophagostomum dentatum, Metastrongylus salmi, Stephanurus dentatus, Cysticercus cellulosae, Cysticercus tenuicollis, hydatid cyst of Echinococcus granulosus and sparganum of Spirometra erinacei.

The records of A. strongylina, P. sexalatus, O. quadrispinulatum, M. salmi, C. tenuicollis, hydatid cyst and sparganum are new for pigs in Nigeria.

It is possible that pigs may play some role in the local epizootiology of C. tenuicollis and E. granulosus. C. cellulosae, E. granulosus, S. erinacei, A. suum and T. suis may be of significance as zoonoses.