Galactosomum stelleri sp. n.

(Trematoda: Heterophyidae) from the Northern Sea-Lion,

Eumetopias jubatus (Schreber, 1776) (Carnivora: Otariidae)
Author(s): Murray D. Dailey, Richard S. Demaree, Richard L. Critchfield
Source: Comparative Parasitology, 69(1):58-61.
Published By: The Helminthological Society of Washington
DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1654/1525-2647(2002)069[0058:GSSNTH]2.0.CO;2
URL: http://www.bioone.org/doi/full/10.1654/1525-2647%282002%29069%5B0058%3AGSSNTH%5D2.0.CO
%3B2

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Comp. Parasitol.
69(1), 2002, pp. 5861

Galactosomum stelleri sp. n. (Trematoda: Heterophyidae) from the

Northern Sea-Lion, Eumetopias jubatus (Schreber, 1776)
(Carnivora: Otariidae)
MURRAY D. DAILEY,1,3 RICHARD S. DEMAREE,2

AND

RICHARD L. CRITCHFIELD2

The Marine Mammal Center, Marin Headlands, 1065 Fort Cronkhite, Sausalito, California 94965, U.S.A.
(e-mail: daileym@tmmc.org) and
2 Department of Biological Sciences, California State University, Chico, California 95929, U.S.A.
ABSTRACT:

Galactosomum stelleri sp. n. (Trematoda: Heterophyidae), a new trematode from the small intestine
of the Stellers or northern sea-lion Eumetopias jubatus is described. An adult female specimen of E. jubatus
collected from Indian Beach, Oregon, U.S.A., harbored over 100 specimens of these trematodes. The new species
most closely resembles Galactosomum ubelakeri (Dailey, 1969) Pearson, 1977, and Galactosomum humbargari
Park, 1936 but differs in body shape and size, lack of tegumental spines, length of esophagus, and ventral genital
complex configuration. This is the third report of a species of Galactosomum from a marine mammal.
KEY WORDS: Digenea, Heterophyidae, Galactosomum stelleri sp. n., northern sea-lion, Stellers sea-lion, Eumetopias jubatus, Oregon, U.S.A.
son, 1973, USNPC 072042; and Galactosomum ubelakeri (Dailey, 1969) Pearson, 1977, from the senior
authors collection.

During a necropsy on a stranded female Stellers or northern sea-lion Eumetopias jubatus

(Schreber, 1776) on Indian Beach, Oregon,
U.S.A., over 100 heterophyid trematodes were
recovered from the small intestine. The worms
all belonged to an undescribed species of Galactosomum Looss, 1899.

Results
Galactosomum stelleri sp. n.
(Figs. 13)
Description

Materials and Methods

Based on 20 specimens: Heterophyidae

Odhner, 1914; Galactosominae Looss, 1899.
Body strap-shaped, 1.10 (0.931.17) mm long
by 373 (270530) wide, greatest width at level
of testes, tegument erugate. Oral sucker subterminal, 123 (117127) long by 133 (120142)
wide. Prepharynx 57 (4773) long. Pharynx 71
(5577) long by 75 (6577) wide. Esophagus
short, 22 (1730) long. Cecal bifurcation 136
(130145) from oral sucker, extending 80% of
body length. Ventrogenital complex primarily
external, with base fused to body wall, submedian, 0.330.34 from anterior end, just posterior
to cecal bifurcation; external margins 106 (100
112) long by 100 (88112) wide, narrowing to
recessed, inner dorsal area 80 wide; occupying
of intercecal space, with rounded anterior face
bearing band of spines 4 long by 1 wide, this
band curving from ventral to dorsal surface.
Gonotyl 35 long, attached to anterior face of
dorsal lip of ventral sucker, with broad base and
narrow apex containing large dextral groove.
Genital atrium short, opening at base of gonotyl.
Testes 2, entire, diagonal, left testis located anterior to right, both testes slightly posterior to

The sea-lion had broken ribs and was euthanized at

the stranding location under the authority of the Washington State Fish and Game Department. The animal
was eviscerated, and the organs were placed in an ice
chest for 1 hr during transport for laboratory analysis.
Over 100 trematodes were recovered from the anterior
and middle thirds of the small intestine and were
stored in neutral buffered formalin.
Worms were dehydrated to 70% ethanol and then
stained in either Semichons carmine or celestine blue
B, dehydrated to 100% ethanol, cleared in clove oil,
rinsed in toluene, and mounted in Canada balsam or
Permount
. Selected worms were dehydrated and embedded in LR white acrylic resin, sectioned at 8 m,
and stained with methylene blue and azure B. Additional worms were dehydrated to 100% ethanol and
dried in hexamethyldisilazane, gold-coated, and examined by scanning electron microscopy. Drawings
were made with a drawing tube mounted on an Olympus BX50F3
microscope. Measurements are in micrometers unless otherwise indicated and include the
mean followed by the range in parentheses.
The following reference specimens were examined
during this study: Galactosomum humbargari Park,
1936, United States National Parasite Collection
(USNPC) 048958.02; Galactosomum johnsoni Price,
1934, USNPC 038695; Galactosomum angelae Pear3

Corresponding author.
58

DAILEY ET AL.GALACTOSOMUM STELLERI SP. N.

59

Figures 13. Galactosomum stelleri sp. n. 1. Whole specimen, ventral view. 2. Diagrammatic drawing of
ventrogenital complex; G gonotyl, GP genital pore, M mouth, PED prostatic ejaculatory duct,
SV seminal vesicle, U uterus, VS ventral sucker. 3. Egg.

midbody, 97 (87103) long by 85 (8096) wide.

Seminal vesicle large, single chambered, 92 long
by 163 wide. Seminal receptacle well developed,
posterior to ovary, 103 (87125). Ovary transversely oval, dextral, located between right testis
and seminal vesicle, 62 (5566) long by 77 (75
79) wide. Vitellaria follicular, reaching anterior
to level of testes and extending outside cecal
field. Uterus occupying most of pre-, inter-, and
posttesticular regions. Eggs oval, thick shelled,
operculate, 28 (2530) long by 17 (1520).
Laurers canal and excretory bladder not seen.
Taxonomic summary
TYPE HOST: Stellers or northern sea-lion Eumetopias jubatus (Schreber, 1776).

TYPE LOCALITY: Indian Beach, Oregon,

U.S.A. (4555N; 12359W).
COLLECTION DATE: 18 March 1981.
SITE OF INFECTION: Small intestine.
DEPOSITED SPECIMENS: Holotype and paratypes, USNPC Nos. 091114 and 091115, respectively.
ETYMOLOGY: This species is named after a
common name of the host, Stellers sea-lion.
Remarks and Discussion
There are currently 21 valid species in the genus Galactosomum (Pearson, 1973, 1977).
Members of this genus are primarily parasites of
aquatic birds, but 5 species have been reported

60

COMPARATIVE PARASITOLOGY, 69(1), JANUARY 2002

from mammals. Two species (Galactosomum

canis Yamaguti, 1954, and Galactosomum sanaenis Kobayasi, 1941) have been found in dogs.
Galactosomum canis was later synonymized
with Galactosomum puffini Yamaguti, 1941, by
Dubois and Mahon (1959). Galactosomum sanaenis was described from a single specimen recovered from an experimentally infected dog
and was listed as a nomen dubium by Pearson
(1973). The remaining 3 species (Galactosomum
erinaceum (Poirier, 1886) Bittner et Sprehn,
1928, G. angelae, and G. ubelakeri) are all from
marine mammals. Galactosomum erinaceum
was reported by Delyamure (1955) from the
common dolphin Delphinus delphis Linnaeus,
1758, in European waters. This species was listed as spec. indet. by Pearson (1973). Galactosomum angelae was reported by Dubois and
Angel (1976) from the Australian sea-lion Neophoca cinerea Peron, 1816, in South Australia.
Galactosomum ubelakeri was originally described in the genus Stictodora by Dailey (1969)
from a California sea-lion collected in southern
California and was reassigned to Galactosomum
by Pearson (1977).
Galactosomum stelleri sp. n. resembles G.
ubelakeri in the body shape, placement of ovary,
testes, seminal vesicle, and seminal receptacle.
It also resembles G. humbargari in placement
and shape of the gonotyl. It differs from G. ubelakeri in body length (G. ubelakeri is shorter,
765900); tegumental covering, being devoid of
tegumental spines (G. ubelakeri is heavily
spined); esophageal length (in G. ubelakeri the
esophagus is minimal to lacking); seminal vesicle with a single chamber (G. ubelakeri has 2
chambers); and a large external ventral sucker
with a reverse C-shaped gonotyl attached to the
anterior face of the dorsal lip (G. ubelakeri has
a recessed ventral sucker and gonotyl). Galactosomum stelleri sp. n. differs from G. humbargari in body shape and length (G. humbargari
is elongate, 1.5 mm), seminal vesicle (G. humbargari has 2 chambers), and ventral sucker (the
entire ventral sucker is recessed in G. humbargari). Galactosomum stelleri sp. n. differs from
all other species in the genus by the predominantly exterior location of its ventrogenital complex.
Pearson (1973) made an interesting speculative observation on the functional morphology
of the ventrogenital complex of heterophyids in
general and the genus Galactosomum specifical-

ly. He suggested that the shift of the genital pore

from pre- to para-acetabular position permits
head-to-head rather than head-to-tail copulation.
He also considered that copulation is probably
effected by protrusion and interlocking of the 2
gonotyls, held in place by the ventral sucker and
spines of the partner. Apparently, the morphology of G. stelleri sp. n. is a good example of
this principle because the ventrogenital complex
seems to have evolved specifically to carry out
this function. It has a solid, exterior ventral
sucker, ringed with spines, supporting an extended gonotyl with a canal-like mouth leading
to the genital pore. This arrangement would facilitate the mutual insertions of gonotyls, as depicted by Pearson (1973, fig. 95).
Acknowledgments
We thank Mr. Steve Tinling for collecting the
worms and the Washington Department of Game
for use of their facilities for sample storage, examination, and initial processing of the materials. We also thank Dr. Mike Kinsella for his help
with the literature and review of the manuscript;
Mr. David Wood for his help with illustrations;
Dr. Eric Hoberg and Mrs. Pat Pilitt, United
States National Parasite Collection, for the loan
of study specimens; and The Marine Mammal
Center, Sausalito, California, for their continued
support.
Literature Cited
Dailey, M. D. 1969. Stictodora ubelakeri, a new species of heterophyid trematode from the California
sea lion (Zalophus californianus). Bulletin of the
Southern California Academy of Sciences 68:82
85.
Delyamure, S. L. 1955. The Helminth Fauna of Marine Mammals in Light of Their Ecology and Phylogeny. Izdatelstvo Akademii Nauk SSSR, Moscow, Russia. 533 pp. (Translated by Israel Program for Scientific Translation Information Services, Springfield, Virginia, U.S.A., as TT67
51202.)
Dubois, G., and L. M. Angel. 1976. Galactosomum
angelae Pearson 1973 in Neophoca cinerea (Peron, 1816) the Australian sea-lion. Bulletin de la
Societe Neuchateloise des Sciences Naturelles 82:
191229.
tude de quelques
, and J. Mahon. 1959. E
trematodes nord-americains (avec note sur la position systematique de Parorchis Nicoll 1907) suivie dune revision des Genres Galactosomum
Looss 1899 et Ochetosoma Braun 1901. Bulletin
de la Societe Neuchateloise des Sciences Naturelles 82:191229.
Pearson, J. C. 1973. A revision of the sub-family

DAILEY ET AL.GALACTOSOMUM STELLERI SP. N.

Haplorchinae Looss, 1899 (Trematoda: Heterophyidae) II. Genus Galactosomum. Philosophical

Transactions of the Royal Society of London, B,
Biological Sciences 266:341447.
. 1977. A redescription of Galactosomum ube-

61

lakeri n. comb. (Digenea: Heterophyidae) from

the California sealion, Zalophus californianus.
Publicacion Especial, Instituto de Biologa de la
Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico 4:
289294.

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