A redescription of the pinniped parasite <i>Contracaecum ogmorhini</i> (Nematoda, Ascaridoidea), with an assessment of its antiboreal circumpolar distribution

Abstract

The otariid seal parasite Contracaecum ogmorhini Johnston &amp; Mawson, 1941 is redescribed based upon new material and the type specimens. The geographical records of this species indicate that it has an antiboreal circumpolar distribution with an isolated population on the south‐west coast of North America. The species is considered to be morphologically more similar to Contracaecum spp. from birds than to those from phocid seals: its possible evolution is commented upon. The material identified as C. osculatum (Rudolphi) by Flores‐Barroeta et al . is considered conspecific with C. ogmorhini , thus suggesting that it is this species, and not C. osculatum , which is responsible for abnormal tissue migration and brain damage in pinnipeds.