New host and geographical records for the leech Acanthobdella peledina Grube 1851 (Hirudinea, Acanthobdellidae)

A total of four leeches (Acanthobdella peledina), parasitizing four specimens of the least cisco (Coregonus sardinella), were found during July and August 1977. The hosts and parasites were collected during a fishery survey by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in the North Slope waters of Naval Petroleum Reserve, Alaska. Two host fishes were collected from the Chipp River (70035' latitude, 155012' longitude) and two from an unnamed, landlocked lake (69054' latitude, 153o23' longitude). The Chipp River collection site is about 130 km southeast of Barrow, and the unnamed lake about 200 km southeast of Barrow. The leeches, which were fixed in situ with neutral formalin, appeared to have penetrated the integument and were embedded in subcutaneous tissues and white muscle at the base of the pelvic fins. The specimens were cylindrical and about 23 mm long and 2-3 mm wide. Color before fixation was olive-green. The five anterior segments each had four pairs of hooked setae at the ventral surface. Our identification was based on a description in Bykhovskaya-Pavlovskaya et al., 1962, Key to parasites of freshwater fish of the USSR (Transl. from Russian), NTIS TT-64-11040.