On the Biology of <i>Macrogyrodactylus polypteri</i> Malmberg, 1956, a Monogenetic Trematode on <i>Polypterus senegalus</i> in the Sudan

Abstract

In August 1962 Dr. C. Amirthalingham brought to me a dead fish, Polypterus senegalus , on which there were a few worms moving. These were found to be monogenetic trematodes of the gyrodactylid type and were later identified as Macrogyrodactylus polypteri Malmberg, 1956. On examining a tank where a few Polypterus senegalus —from Jebel Awlia on the White Nile near Khartoum—were kept, it was found to be heavily infested with these worms and each fish was covered with a thick greyish-white fluff on its skin. The trematodes could be seen by the naked eye and were found practically on the whole surface of the fishes.