Cardicola forsteri (Digenea: Sanguinicolidae) from the Heart of a Northern Bluefin Tuna, Thunnus thynnus (Scombridae), in the Northwest Atlantic Ocean

• Main Authors: Bullard, Stephen A., Goldstein, Robert J., Goodwin, Robert H., III, Overstreet, Robin M.
• Format: Text
• Language: unknown
• Published: DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska - Lincoln 2004
• Subjects: Cardicola forsteri; Sanguinicolidae; Digenea; Blood fluke; Thunnus thynnus; Northern bluefin tuna; Scombridae; Heart; Northwest Atlantic Ocean; Cage; Aquaculture; Disease; Parasitology; Lookout; Cape Lookout; Northwest Atlantic
• Online Access: https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/parasitologyfacpubs/419; https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/context/parasitologyfacpubs/article/1428/viewcontent/Overstreet_2004_CP_Cardicola_forsteri_Digenea_Sanguinicolidae_from_the_Heart_of_a_Northern_Bluefin_Tuna_Thunnus_thynnus_Scombridae_in_the_NorthwestAtlantic_Ocean.pdf

We report a specimen of Cardicola forsteri Cribb, Daintith, and Munday, 2000 (Digenea: Sanguinicolidae) from the lumen of the heart of a northern bluefin tuna, Thunnus thynnus (Linnaeus, 1758) (Scombridae), that was 218 cm in total length (TL) and caught in the northwest Atlantic Ocean 12 km south of Cape Lookout, North Carolina. The hearts of 12 similarly sized northern bluefin tuna (127–262 cm TL) from George’s Bank, northwest Atlantic Ocean, were not infected. This is the first report of C. forsteri from a wild host and of a sanguinicolid from any scombrid in the northwest Atlantic Ocean. Bluefin tuna is cultured in sea cages because of its highly prized flesh, and the fact that a blood fluke infects this host is significant because some blood flukes have been identified as serious pathogens of cage-cultured fish.