First evidence of Flamingolepis liguloides in parthenogenetic Artemia from a Mediterranean hypersaline lagoon (Salina dei Monaci, Apulia, Italy)
- 1Department of Ecological and Biological Sciences, University of Tuscia, Viterbo, Italy
Abstract
Hypersaline ecosystems host simplified yet highly structured food webs, in which Artemia plays a central ecological role, including serving as an intermediate host for several avian cestodes. Flamingolepis liguloides is among the most widespread parasites associated with Artemia worldwide; however, its presence in Italy has not been confirmed since early reports from Sardinia in the 1990s. Here, we provide the first documented evidence of F. liguloides infecting parthenogenetic Artemia in the hypersaline lagoon of Salina dei Monaci (Apulia, Italy). Host and parasite identities were confirmed through an integrative approach combining morphological analyses with molecular data, including newly generated 18S and 28S rDNA sequences, the latter providing novel molecular information for the parasite. Among the 254 brine shrimp examined, prevalence reached 93.3%, with a mean abundance of 7.3 ± 10.1 cysticercoids and up to 73 larvae in a single host. Parasite abundance was positively correlated with host body size, consistent with cumulative exposure and size-dependent feeding capacities. Cysticercoids were distributed within the host body, with the thorax harbouring the highest parasite loads, while cysticercoids became progressively more frequent in other body regions in larger individuals. The high infection levels observed, together with the presence of large flamingo aggregations in the lagoon, indicate a stable and active transmission cycle. This study fills an important geographic gap in the known distribution of F. liguloides and highlights the Salina dei Monaci as a promising natural system for future investigations on host–parasite dynamics in Mediterranean hypersaline environments.
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BibTeX
@article{favero2026first,
title = {{First evidence of Flamingolepis liguloides in parthenogenetic Artemia from a Mediterranean hypersaline lagoon (Salina dei Monaci, Apulia, Italy)}},
author = {Marta Favero and Gianpasquale Chiatante and Eleonora Di Basilio and Martina Mazzetti and Giovanni Polverino and Marialetizia Palomba and Daniele Canestrelli},
journal = {Parasitology},
year = {2026},
month = may,
doi = {10.1017/s0031182026102194},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1017/s0031182026102194},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - First evidence of Flamingolepis liguloides in parthenogenetic Artemia from a Mediterranean hypersaline lagoon (Salina dei Monaci, Apulia, Italy)
AU - Marta Favero
AU - Gianpasquale Chiatante
AU - Eleonora Di Basilio
AU - Martina Mazzetti
AU - Giovanni Polverino
AU - Marialetizia Palomba
AU - Daniele Canestrelli
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/05/26
JO - Parasitology
DO - 10.1017/s0031182026102194
UR - https://doi.org/10.1017/s0031182026102194
AB - Hypersaline ecosystems host simplified yet highly structured food webs, in which Artemia plays a central ecological role, including serving as an intermediate host for several avian cestodes. Flamingolepis liguloides is among the most widespread parasites associated with Artemia worldwide; however, its presence in Italy has not been confirmed since early reports from Sardinia in the 1990s. Here, we provide the first documented evidence of F. liguloides infecting parthenogenetic Artemia in the hypersaline lagoon of Salina dei Monaci (Apulia, Italy). Host and parasite identities were confirmed through an integrative approach combining morphological analyses with molecular data, including newly generated 18S and 28S rDNA sequences, the latter providing novel molecular information for the parasite. Among the 254 brine shrimp examined, prevalence reached 93.3%, with a mean abundance of 7.3 ± 10.1 cysticercoids and up to 73 larvae in a single host. Parasite abundance was positively correlated with host body size, consistent with cumulative exposure and size-dependent feeding capacities. Cysticercoids were distributed within the host body, with the thorax harbouring the highest parasite loads, while cysticercoids became progressively more frequent in other body regions in larger individuals. The high infection levels observed, together with the presence of large flamingo aggregations in the lagoon, indicate a stable and active transmission cycle. This study fills an important geographic gap in the known distribution of F. liguloides and highlights the Salina dei Monaci as a promising natural system for future investigations on host–parasite dynamics in Mediterranean hypersaline environments.
SN - 0031-1820
SN - 1469-8161
ER -